PhilSci Archive

Empirical Access to Life’s Teleological Forces via an Active and Co-Constitutive Relation between Subject and Object

Hueck, Christoph (2024) Empirical Access to Life’s Teleological Forces via an Active and Co-Constitutive Relation between Subject and Object. [Preprint]

WarningThere is a more recent version of this item available.
[img]
Preview
Text
Empirical Access to Life's Telological Forces.pdf

Download (564kB) | Preview

Abstract

This article proposes an approach to understanding life that overcomes reductionist and dualist approaches. Kant’s analysis of the conditions of knowing an organism shows that attempts to explain its teleology and autopoiesis from the interactions of its components is problematic. Based on an analysis by Van de Vijver and colleagues, a co-constitutive relationship between the cognitive activities of the observer and the living features of the organism is described. Using the example of a developmental series, it is shown that within this active relational process, both autopoiesis and teleology of the organism manifest themselves on the mental level of the observer. The Kantian mode of objectification, which refers to the sensually perceptible appearance of an organism, can be supplemented by an active mode of relational objectification that encompasses the life of the organism. The analysis introduces a phenomenological first-person perspective on the study of life "from within", which enables an empirical investigation of the vital properties of an organism.


Export/Citation: EndNote | BibTeX | Dublin Core | ASCII/Text Citation (Chicago) | HTML Citation | OpenURL
Social Networking:
Share |

Item Type: Preprint
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
Hueck, Christophhueck@akanthos-akademie.de0009-0008-2513-1919
Keywords: Immanuel Kant; Teleology; Autopoiesis; Organic development; Objectification; First-person perspective
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Biology
Specific Sciences > Biology > Function/Teleology
General Issues > Explanation
General Issues > Philosophers of Science
General Issues > Reductionism/Holism
Depositing User: Dr. Christoph J. Hueck
Date Deposited: 23 Apr 2024 06:33
Last Modified: 23 Apr 2024 06:33
Item ID: 23292
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Biology
Specific Sciences > Biology > Function/Teleology
General Issues > Explanation
General Issues > Philosophers of Science
General Issues > Reductionism/Holism
Date: 2024
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/23292

Available Versions of this Item

Monthly Views for the past 3 years

Monthly Downloads for the past 3 years

Plum Analytics

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item