scholarly journals Biological Individuality, Pregnancy, and (Mammalian) Reproduction

2020 ◽  
Vol 87 (5) ◽  
pp. 1037-1048
Author(s):  
Elselijn Kingma
2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie I. Kaiser ◽  
Rose Trappes

AbstractBiological individuality is a notoriously thorny topic for biologists and philosophers of biology. In this paper we argue that biological individuality presents multiple, interconnected questions for biologists and philosophers that together form a problem agenda. Using a case study of an interdisciplinary research group in ecology, behavioral and evolutionary biology, we claim that a debate on biological individuality that seeks to account for diverse practices in the biological sciences should be broadened to include and give prominence to questions about uniqueness and temporality. We show that broadening the problem agenda of biological individuality draws attention to underrecognized philosophical issues and discussions and thereby organizes and enriches the existing debate.


2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 761-773 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Pradeu

1974 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Jelleff Carr ◽  
Kenneth D. Fisher ◽  
John M. Talbot

1993 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 219-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. R. Burgio

Author(s):  
Frédéric Bouchard

Whereas individual organisms have acted as the paradigm case to make us think about biological individuality, multi-organism assemblages such as colonies and communities force us to reconsider how biological individuality can emerge. Symbiosis research has given philosophers of biology tools for rethinking the nature of biological individuality. This chapter discusses how the adaptations linked to symbiotic communities highlight a new research dilemma: should we think of a biological ontology focused on individuals and their traits (even if this means positing non-orthodox individuals with non-standard properties)? Or should we move beyond individuals and focus instead on intersecting evolutionary processes? While reasons are offered to favour the former option, it is explained why this dilemma highlights the question of the different temporal scales at which evolution occurs and how this forces us to consider the transient and intermittent biological individuals generated by evolution, as well as the significance of the processes that generate them.


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