Umwelt

Literary/ Cultural Context Essay

Roy Elveton (Carleton College)
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The concept of the

Umwelt

plays a central role in Martin Heidegger’s (1889-1976) celebrated account of human existence in his major work,

Being and Time

(1927). The

Umwelt

, variously translated as “environment” or “surrounding world”, represents the everyday world of human activity: its cares, concerns and ends. It is best understood not as the world that is merely in our immediate vicinity, perceivable by a detached observer, but as the ordered arrangement of equipment and tools that is directly accessible to human practical activities and aims. What “surrounds” us in this sense is what is practically necessary, available and desirable with respect to individual and social needs and actions.

Critical of the cognitivism of traditional philosophy and its emphasis upon the

502 words

Citation: Elveton, Roy. "Umwelt". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 22 April 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1542, accessed 19 March 2024.]

1542 Umwelt 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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