3. Reality As Examined Appearances

Abstract

This chapter sets forth an operational definition of reality that accommodates some aspects of the nature of time, thus far unsuspected. It discusses extenders Jakob von Uexkull’s umwelt principle. A generalization of Jakob von Uexkull’s Umwelt principle permits the formulation of a natural philosophy of time that can accommodate, in a single theory, insights about the nature of time that stem from the different sciences and the humanities. The boundaries of human reality explorable through the aidedexp and unaided senses may be further anded through the abstract language of mathematics, used to describe the functions (laws) and structures of nature. The hierarchical theory of time takes advantage of the extended Umwelt principle. The chapter shows that without living subject, there can be no time. This claim may now be updated by taking advantage of the latent significance of the Umwelt principle and bringing it into the post-Darwinian and post-Einsteinian world.Keywords: hierarchical theory; human reality; Jakob von Uexkull’s umwelt principle; post-Darwinian world; post-Einsteinian world