Jakob Von Uexkull

Uexküll, Jakob Von 

Born Sept. 8, 1864, in Keblaste, now in Estonian SSR; died July 25, 1944, on Capri. German biologist, zoopsychologist, and philosopher.

A graduate of the University of Tartu, Uexkiill worked at the physiological institute in Heidelberg (Germany) and at the zoological station in Naples. In 1925 he became a professor at the University of Hamburg, where he created an institute for the study of the relationships of animals with the environment. He investigated the motor systems of animals (mainly invertebrates), the physiology of muscle contraction and nerve excitation, and other problems of comparative physiology. Uexkiill’s works contributed substantially to the development of the concept of the unity of the organism and the environment. His views of the world surrounding the animal served as one of the theoretical bases of ethology. He developed idealistic theological views in his works on the philosophy of natural science.

WORKS

Leitfaden in das Studium der experimentellen Biologie der Wassertiere. Wiesbaden, 1905.
Umwelt und Innenwelt der Tiere, 2nd ed. Berlin, 1921.
Theoretische Biologie, 2nd ed. Berlin, 1928.
Bedeutungslehre. Leipzig, 1940.
Das allmächtige Leben. Hamburg, 1950.
Streifzüge durch die Umwelten von Tieren und Menschen. Hamburg, 1958. (With G. Kriszat.)

K. E. FABRI