The search image as link between sensation, perception and action

Area of Science:

• Ethology
• Cognitive Science
• Theoretical Biology

Background:

• Jakob von Uexküll's "search image" is an imagined object an organism uses when searching.
• This concept is integral to his Umwelt theory, highlighting the plasticity of subjective lifeworlds.
• Contemporary tripartite Umwelt models connect search images to core and mediated experiences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To re-evaluate the utility of Uexküll's original "search image" concept.
• To explore its relevance to contemporary ethology, cognitive science, and theoretical biology.
• To examine its role in understanding perception, potential errors, and subjective time.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual analysis of Uexküll's "search image" theory.
• Comparison with contemporary notions of search images and Umwelt theory.
• Application of the concept to explain perceptual phenomena and cognitive science puzzles.

Main Results:

• Uexküll's "search image" concept retains significant theoretical value.
• It offers a wider application than contemporary versions, relevant to theoretical biology and cognitive science.
• The concept illuminates the constructive role of schemata in perception and potential mismatches.

Conclusions:

• Uexküll's "search image" is crucial for understanding the plasticity of the Umwelt.
• It bridges core and mediated Umwelten in contemporary models.
• Search images explain perceptual construction, errors, and puzzles in subjective and neural time.