A series of articles on the philosophy of biology
Curated by
Helga Groll

Philosophy of Biology

A series of articles offering philosophical perspectives on the life sciences.
Collection
vividbiology.com
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Philosophers of science have become increasingly interested in biology over the past few decades. At first, the focus was on evolution but, as this series of articles demonstrates, the philosophy of biology now encompasses a wide range of topics. The subjects covered in this series include philosophical bias, synthetic biology, regeneration, stem cells, microbiology, immunology, big data, and the use of drawing to better understand a biological process.

Collection

  1. Philosophy of Biology: Health, ecology and the microbiome

    S Andrew Inkpen
    The interactions between communities of microbial species and their human hosts raise questions about the nature of health and disease.

  2. Philosophy of Biology: The challenges of big data biology

    Sabina Leonelli
    Understanding how data were collected and processed is an essential element of big data biology.
    1. Immunology and Inflammation

    Philosophy of Biology: Immunology and individuality

    Thomas Pradeu
    Discussions about biological individuality and immunogenicity continue the long history of dialogue between philosophers and immunologists.
    1. Cell Biology

    Philosophy of Biology: Drawing and the dynamic nature of living systems

    Gemma Anderson et al.
    Drawing may be a way to better understand a biological process and to explore and develop scientific ideas.

  5. Philosophy of Biology: Philosophical bias is the one bias that science cannot avoid

    Fredrik Andersen et al.
    Scientists should be aware of the non-empirical assumptions that influence all kinds of research.

  6. Philosophy of Biology: From primal scenes to synthetic cells

    Hub Zwart
    Philosophy may help to explore the potential impacts of synthetic cells.
    1. Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine

    Philosophy of Biology: Towards a classification of stem cells

    Lucie Laplane, Eric Solary
    The occurrence, progression and treatment of cancer may be linked to changes in the nature of stemness.

  8. Philosophy of Biology: Understanding regeneration at different scales

    Kate MacCord, Jane Maienschein
    To understand how regeneration works across the different scales of living systems, we first need to identify the essential components underlying this process.

Contributors

  1. Helga Groll
    Associate features editor