Abstract

Almost forty years after Adolf Portmann’s death, we welcome the publication of a collective monograph about the life and legacy of this unique zoologist and anthropologist. This work should be of interest to biologists who study the theoretical aspects of animal morphology or are interested in animal patterns, but also to philosophers of biology who investigate the aesthetic aspects of nature or the concept of organism. Intellectuals interested in these subjects – or non-mechanistic views of living beings in general – are likely to be familiar with Portmann’s work, but this publication offers a look at various facets of his thought which are likely to be novel and of interest even to intellectuals already familiar with his thoughts.