Broadening the problem agenda of biological individuality: individual differences, uniqueness and temporality

Kaiser, Marie I.; Trappes, Rose

doi:10.1007/s10539-021-09791-5

Cited by 16 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 59 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…We argued in a recent essay that when the concept "individuality" is put to work, its applied meanings are contextual, contingent upon different perspectives and disciplinary problems (Lidgard and Nyhart 2017b; see also Kaiser and Trappes 2021). Simpson's paper, and the analysis of the broader historical setting its content demands, invite us to recognize that the relevant contexts are not just scientific.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Revisiting George Gaylord Simpson’s “The Role of the Individual in Evolution” (1941)

Nyhart

Lidgard

2021

Biol Theory

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Role of the Individual in Evolution" is a prescient yet neglected 1941 work by the 20th century's most important paleontologist, George Gaylord Simpson. In a curious intermingling of explanation and critique, Simpson engages questions that would become increasingly fundamental in modern biological theory and philosophy. Did individuality, adaptation, and evolutionary causation reside at more than one level: the cell, the organism, the genetically coherent reproductive group, the social group, or some combination thereof? What was an individual, anyway? In this introduction, we highlight two points in a wider historical context. First, recognizing the political context of Simpson's writing profoundly deepens our understanding of the development of his science as the Modern Evolutionary Synthesis infused biology. Second, this story illuminates the emergence of debates around what would eventually come to be called multilevel selection theory. The organism-centered concept of biological individuality defended by Simpson is situated in relation to the then-emerging Synthesis, in which he was a renowned player, and also in relation to the views he opposed: the "metaphysical" ideas of paleontologists such as Henry Fairfield Osborn, who claimed that some evolutionary trends derived from potentialities already implanted in the germplasm; and the organicist ideas of Ralph W. Gerard and the Chicago School of ecologists, which he derided as all too congenial to totalitarianism. We find parallels between the ways that Simpson thought then about human individuality under totalitarianism and the way he thought about individuality in evolution; not that any causal relationship linked the two, but that commonalities of hierarchical structure exist between single entities and groups in both instances. We then trace the subsequent development of Simpson's political and philosophical takes on the role of the individual in evolution through the 1960s and lightly sketch out the later fate of the organicist ideas of the Chicago School. Simpson's paper, originally published in the Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences (31:1-20), is available as supplementary material in the online version of this article, as part of the "Classics in Biological Theory" collection.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Revisiting George Gaylord Simpson’s “The Role of the Individual in Evolution” (1941)

Nyhart

Lidgard

2021

Biol Theory

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Codes are assigned to text passages and can then be assessed for their frequency and cooccurrence, such as across questions or amongst participants. One major finding of the questionnaire was that participants frequently considered individuality in terms of individual differences, and sometimes also in terms of criteria of individuality discussed in evolutionary biology, physiology and philosophy of biology, such as having boundaries or being a unit of selection (Kaiser & Trappes, 2021). Another finding was that uniqueness was sometimes mentioned in relation to individuality.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It also shapes the research agenda and methodological choices in behavioural ecology, encouraging researchers to look closer at how individuals differ. On this basis, I argue that behavioural ecological individuality is a new concept of biological individuality, joining other more well-studied concepts such as evolutionary individuality and immunological individuality in a broader "problem agenda" of biological individuality (Kaiser & Trappes, 2021;.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual differences, uniqueness, and individuality in behavioural ecology

Trappes

2022

Studies in History and Philosophy of Science

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Asimismo, otros argumentan que la individualidad consiste en dos aspectos fundamentales: la contabilidad y la identidad (cf. Kaiser & Trappes, 2021;Krause & Arenhardt, 2016;Lowe, 2003;. Según Lewowicz y Lombardi (2013) (Lewowicz & Lombardi, 2013).…”

Section: Las Categorías Ontológicas De Individuos Y Procesosunclassified

¿Es posible una ontología procesual de las entidades bioquímicas? Consideraciones a partir del caso de los receptores celulares y la señalización celular

Alassia

2021

Estud.filos

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Las macromoléculas biológicas, consideradas como los ítems del dominio bioquímico, son típicamente concebidas bajo la categoría ontológica de individuos sustanciales. En este trabajo argumentaré que el marco filosófico de la ontología procesual, según el cual el mundo viviente no está poblado de individuos sino de una jerarquía dinámica de procesos, resulta más adecuado para dar cuenta de la estructura y funcionamiento de las macromoléculas. En particular, analizaré su aplicación al fenómeno de la señalización celular y a uno de sus conceptos claves, los receptores celulares. Los conocimientos actuales en bioquímica permiten concebir los receptores como entidades procesuales y dinámicas, estabilizadas relacionalmente y no separadas del fenómeno bioquímico del que forman parte.

show abstract

Broadening the problem agenda of biological individuality: individual differences, uniqueness and temporality

Cited by 16 publications

References 59 publications

Revisiting George Gaylord Simpson’s “The Role of the Individual in Evolution” (1941)

Revisiting George Gaylord Simpson’s “The Role of the Individual in Evolution” (1941)

Individual differences, uniqueness, and individuality in behavioural ecology

¿Es posible una ontología procesual de las entidades bioquímicas? Consideraciones a partir del caso de los receptores celulares y la señalización celular

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About