Processes of Life

Essays in the Philosophy of Biology

John Dupré

Investigates fascinating issues arising from the scientific study of life
Challenges our basic assumptions about the living world
For the first time shows the philosophical importance of microbiology
Lively, witty essays
No expertise in philosophy or in biology assumed on the part of the reader
Dupré is a leading figure at the intersection of philosophy and science

Processes of Life

Essays in the Philosophy of Biology

John Dupré

Description

John Dupré explores recent revolutionary developments in biology and considers their relevance for our understanding of human nature and human society. Epigenetics and related areas of molecular biology have eroded the exceptional status of the gene and presented the genome as fully interactive with the rest of the cell. Developmental systems theory provides a space for a vision of evolution that takes full account of the fundamental importance of developmental processes. Dupré shows the importance of microbiology for a proper understanding of the living world, and reveals how it subverts such basic biological assumptions as the organisation of biological kinds on a branching tree of life, and the simple traditional conception of the biological organism.

These topics are considered in the context of a view of science as realistically grounded in the natural order, but at the same time as pluralistic and inextricably integrated within a social and normative context. The volume includes a section that recapitulates and expands some of the author's general views on science; a section addressing a range of topics in biology, including the significance of genomics, the nature of the organism and the current status of evolutionary theory; and a section exploring some implications of contemporary biology for humans, for example on the reality or unreality of human races, and the plasticity of human nature.

Processes of Life

Essays in the Philosophy of Biology

John Dupré

Introduction
I. Science
1: The Miracle of Monism
2: What's the Fuss about Social Constructivism?
3: The Inseparability of Science and Values
II. Biology
4: The Constituents of Life 1: Species, Microbes and Genes
5: The Constituents of Life 2: Organisms and Systems
6: Understanding Contemporary Genomics
7: The Polygenomic Organism
8: It is not Possible to Reduce Biological Explanations to Explanations in Chemistry and/or Physics
9: Postgenomic Darwinism
III. Microbes
10: Size Doesn't Matter: Towards a More Inclusive Philosophy of Biology, (with Maureen O'Malley)
11: Metagenomics and Biological Ontology, (with Maureen O'Malley)
12: Varieties of living things: Life at the intersection of lineage and metabolism, (with Maureen O'Malley)
13: Emerging Sciences and New Conceptions of Disease: Or, Beyond the Monogenomic Differentiated Cell Lineage
IV. Humans
14: Against Maladaptationism: or What's Wrong with Evolutionary Psychology
15: What Genes Are, and Why There Are No Genes for Race
16: Causality and Human Nature in the Social Sciences

Processes of Life

Essays in the Philosophy of Biology

John Dupré

Author Information

John Dupré, University of Exeter and Centre for Genomics in Society

John Dupré is Professor of Philosophy of Science at the University of Exeter and, since 2002, Director of the ESRC Centre for Genomics in Society (Egenis). He has formerly held posts at Oxford, Stanford, and Birkbeck College, London. In 2006 he held the Spinoza Visiting Professorship at the University of Amsterdam. He is the President-Elect of the British Society for the Philosophy of Science and a member of the Council of the International Society for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology. John Dupré has worked on a wide variety of biological issues of interest to philosophy, including the nature of species, organisms, and genes, the implications of evolutionary theory, and lately on genomics and various related areas of molecular biology (epigenetics, microbiology, systems biology and synthetic biology). He has also contributed to philosophical discussions on topics of relevance to science, such as the nature of causation and the status of natural kinds.

Contributors:

(with Maureen O'Malley)
(with Maureen O'Malley)
(with Maureen O'Malley)

Processes of Life

Essays in the Philosophy of Biology

John Dupré

Reviews and Awards

"There is much of interest in this collection of sixteen of John Duprés most recently published papers" - Matthew J. Barker, Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences

"Dupre is original and persuasive on a number of important topics. ... Also to be applauded is his unwavering refusal to avoid the more technical aspects of current biological science. ... Suffice to say that there are many more highlights and choice tidbits than I can present here. Processes of Life is a rich and rewarding melting pot of fluent scientific exegesis with subtle philosophical analysis, which will keep us thinking and arguing for a long time to come, and I wholeheartedly recommend you read it." - Ellen Clarke, British Journal for the Philosophy of Science

"Through their thorough arguments, the essays in Processes of Life challenge widely held assumptions about biology and evolution. Dupré provides a view of life grounded in recent research and current understanding. His perspective also reminds us how much we do not know." - Christian Julian Villabona-Arenas, Science

"This collection of sixteen essays ... provides not only a glimpse into the mind of one of the leading philosophers of biology but also a keen sense of some of the new directions that the field has taken over the past decade ... this will be a useful volume for those in the field to have. Dupré's writing is crisp and engaging, and given his focus on areas of biological science beyond those that have constituted the bread-and-butter of philosophical discussions, the volume should appeal as well to those wondering what all the excitement has been about in recent philosophy of biology." - Robert A. Wilson, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews