Jobst Landgrebe: On Arnold Gehlen
Gehlen's core idea in his book Der Mensch (Man) is that humans have a unique properties which distinguish them from all other species: world-openness (Weltoffenheit), a concept originally coined by Max Scheler, which describes the ability of humans to adapt to various environments as contrasted with animals, which can only survive in environments which match their evolutionary specialisation. This world-openness gives us the ability to shape our environment according to our intentions, and it comprises a view of language as a way of acting (Gehlen was one of the first proponents of speech act theory); an excess of impulses; and the ability of self-control. These properties allow us—in contrast to all other animals—to create our own (for example cultural) environments.