Umwelten

Umwelten denotes the subjective environments of living beings—the worlds as they are perceived and acted upon, rather than the objective physical surroundings. The term is rooted in the work of the German biologist Jakob von Uexküll, who argued that each organism inhabits its own Umwelt shaped by its sensory apparatus, nervous system, and motor capabilities. An Umwelt comprises the cues, affordances, and meaningful interactions that are detectable and actionable for the organism. Because different species possess different senses and needs, they inhabit different Umwelten even when sharing the same external space.

The plural Umwelten is used when discussing multiple organisms, contexts, or species, emphasizing perceptual subjectivity and the mediated nature of experience. In fields such as ethology, biosemiotics, cognitive science, and design, the concept helps explain why beings experience environments in distinctive ways and how these differences influence behavior, communication, and interaction with technology or surroundings. In human contexts, cultural and technological factors can further modify the Umwelt, producing diverse perceptual worlds among individuals and societies.

Relation to other concepts: Umwelten contrasts with Umgebung, the physical surroundings in a more objective sense, and with Lebenswelt or Welt in phenomenology, which refer to broader human life-worlds and meanings. While some critics view the notion as anthropomorphic or metaphorical, it remains a useful heuristic for analyzing perception, action, and interaction across species and contexts.