Again,What the Philosophy of Biology is not

There are many things that philosophy of biology might be. But, given the existence of a professional philosophy of biology that is arguably a progressive research program and, as such, unrivaled, it makes sense to define philosophy of biology more narrowly than the totality of intersecting concerns biologists and philosophers (let alone other scholars) might have. The reasons for the success of the “new” philosophy of biology remain poorly understood. I reflect on what Dutch and Flemish, and, more generally, European philosophers of biology could do to improve the situation of their discipline locally, regionally, and internationally, paying particular attention to the lessons to be learned from the “Science Wars.” This paper grew out of my contribution to the symposium Philosophy of Biology in the Netherlands and Flanders organized by Thomas Reydon and Sabina Leonelli in Amsterdam in February 2004. It is a rather personal reaction to many of the opinions voiced in the quite heated atmosphere of the Symposium. My main concern is to convey an idea of what, according to me, is required to turn “our” philosophy of biology into a more successful enterprise than it currently is. This is motivated by a disconcerting discovery I made at the Symposium: Contrary to my expectations, a sensitivity for the sorts of things that make possible philosophy of biology of the best kind available today seems to be largely lacking in our part of the world. I wish to stress from the outset that although I will be quite polemical at times, this is always intended in the spirit of constructive dialogue.     

What philosophy of biology should be

This paper reviews Rosenberg’s and McShea’s textbook in philosophy of biology, entitled Philosophy of Biology. A Contemporary Introduction. I insist on the excellent quality of this textbook, then I turn to more critical comments, which deal mainly with what philosophy of biology is, and what it should be.     

So what do we really mean when we say that systems biology is <Emphasis Type="Italic">holistic</Emphasis>?

Background  

An old debate has undergone a resurgence in systems biology: that of reductionism versus holism. At least 35 articles in the systems biology literature since 2003 have touched on this issue. The histories of holism and reductionism in the philosophy of biology are reviewed, and the current debate in systems biology is placed in context.     

Comparative Epistemology: Contours of a Research Program

This article addresses the question whether and how literary documents can be used to further our understanding of a number of key issues on the agenda of the philosophy of biology such as “complexity” and “reductionism”. Kant already granted a certain respectability to aesthetical experiences of nature in his third Critique. Subsequently, the philosophical movement known as phenomenology often used literary sources and literary techniques to criticize and question mainstream laboratory science. The article discusses a number of literary documents, from Moby-Dick to Jurassic Park, that explicitly stage a confrontation between scientific and non-scientific ways of experiencing and understanding the natural world. Special attention is given to the work of Michael Crichton. Its relevance for the philosophy of biology is pointed out.     

Philosophy and tinkering

I characterize Wimsatt’s approach to philosophy of science as philosophy for science and then briefly consider a theme emerging from his work that informs just one of the many current developments in philosophy of biology that he inspired: scaffolding as a problem of mechanistic explanation for functionalists.     

Nesting biology,life cycle,and interactions between females of Manuelia postica,a solitary species of the Xylocopinae (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Abstract

The Xylocopinae contains four tribes with species which show a range of nesting habits, from solitary to social. The Manueliini is the sister group to all other Xylocopine tribes, with one genus, Manuelia, of three species found mainly in Chile. This is a solitary genus, whose biology is scarcely known for two species, M. gayatina and M. gayi, and so far completely unknown for M. postica. This paper reports on nesting substrates, nest architecture, nesting behaviours, life cycle, and interactions between females at nesting sites, for M. postica. The results indicate that M. postica presents some features which are typical of solitary life, and also some features which are unusual in solitary bees but have been reported in phylogenetically more apical social species. Our findings open interesting questions on the ecological scenarios involved in the evolution of sociality within the Xylocopinae.     

Philosophy of Biology: About the Fossilization of Disciplines and Other Embryonic Thoughts

This paper focuses on a running dispute between Werner Callebaut's naturalistic view and Filip Kolen and Gertrudis Van de Vijver's transcendentalist view on the nature of philosophy of biology and the relation of this discipline to biological sciences. It is argued that, despite differences in opinion, both positions agree that philosophy of biology's ultimate goal is to 'move' biology or at least be 'meaningful' to it. In order to make this goal clear and effective, more is needed than a polarizing debate which hardly touches upon biology. Therefore, a redirection in discussion is suggested towards a reflection on the possibilities of incorporating philosophy in interdisciplinary research, and on finding concrete research questions which are of interest both to the philosopher and to the biologist.     

Biodiversity, biotechnologies and the philosophy of biology.

The thesis of this paper is that in front of the development of biotechnology and of the capacity of techniques of altering the living, there is still a very old philosophy of biology. A rapid historical view is given where the rise and diffusion of the reductionistic paradigm is presented and the connections between this paradigm and biotechnologies are traced. Curiously biotechnologies are still based on the philosophy of F. Bacon. Then the necessity of a new paradigm in biology based on the recent discoveries of complexity is underlined. It is reminded that the main discovery of science of the XX century is that we are living in a small planet of limited resources and frail equilibriums. This discovery asks for a different view of the scientific progress, more linked to the conservation of the Biosphere than to its alteration. Stability is the task for the future interactions of human-kind with nature. For this reason the relationships between stability and diversity are summarised. Finally, as the species is the main step of Biodiversity, a brief discussion of the problems posed by the altering of species barriers is presented.     

The Philosophy of Donald T. Campbell: A Short Review and Critical Appraisal

Aside from his remarkable studies in psychology and the social sciences, Donald Thomas Campbell (1916–1996) made significant contributions to philosophy, particularly philosophy of science,epistemology, and ethics. His name and his work are inseparably linked with the evolutionary approach to explaining human knowledge (evolutionary epistemology). He was an indefatigable supporter of the naturalistic turn in philosophy and has strongly influenced the discussion of moral issues (evolutionary ethics). The aim of this paper is to briefly characterize Campbells work and to discuss its philosophical implications. In particular, I show its relevance to some current debates in the intersection of biology and philosophy. In fact, philosophy of biology would look poorer without Campbells influence. The present paper is not a hagiography but an attempt to evaluate and critically discuss the meaning of Campbells work for philosophy of biology and to encourage scholars working in this field to read and re-read this work which is both challenging and inspiring.     

Polyphenism ofHalictus (Seladonia) tumulorum (L.) (Hymenoptera,Halictinae)

Summary A population ofHalictus (S.) tumulorum, a species whose biology is poorly known, was studied in eastern France. The polyphenism was evaluated by comparing a sample of foundresses (1991) with two samples of summer females (1991 and 1992).H. tumulorum is a primitively eusocial species with castes differing only slightly in size, but more in function, and producing numerous males in the first brood. The social level of the species appears rather low.     

Social and genetic structure in colonies of the social wasp <Emphasis Type="Italic">Microstigmus nigrophthalmus</Emphasis>

Microstigmus (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) is a genus of social apoid wasps which represents an origin of sociality independent from vespoids, but which has so far received little attention. Though group-nesting is widespread in Microstigmus, genetic relatedness has so far been studied in only one species, M. comes. We report on the social biology of M. nigrophthalmus, drawing from behavioural observations and molecular genetic analyses of relatedness and kinship. There was no evidence of distinctive behavioural suites that distinguished reproductive and non-reproductive individuals. Females could mate more than once, but mating frequency was low. Mean relatedness within nests was high, particularly between females (close to 0.5), but pairwise relatedness values were very variable, as nestmates displayed a wide range of relationships. Such high levels of relatedness should be a factor promoting social nesting and cooperative brood care in this species, as females gain only a slight genetic advantage through rearing their own offspring rather than those of nestmates. This study provides the finest analysis of genetic structure so far in an apoid wasp, and indicates that the form of sociality varies greatly between species of Microstigmus.     

On the origin of the typological/population distinction in Ernst Mayr’s changing views of species, 1942–1959

Ernst Mayr’s typological/population distinction is a conceptual thread that runs throughout much of his work in systematics, evolutionary biology, and the history and philosophy of biology. Mayr himself claims that typological thinking originated in the philosophy of Plato and that population thinking was first introduced by Charles Darwin and field naturalists. A more proximate origin of the typological/population thinking, however, is found in Mayr’s own work on species. This paper traces the antecedents of the typological/population distinction by detailing Mayr’s changing views of species between 1942 and 1955. During this period, Mayr struggles to refine the biological species concept in the face of tensions that exist between studying species locally and studying them as geographically distributed collections of variable populations. The typological/population distinction is first formulated in 1955, when Mayr generalizes from the type concept versus the population concept in taxonomy to typological versus population thinking in biology more generally. Mayr’s appeal to the more general distinction between typological and population thinking coincides with the waning status of natural history and evolutionary biology that occurs in the early 1950s and the distinction plays an important role in Mayr’s efforts to legitimate the natural historical sciences.     

The lack of female dominance in golden‐brown mouse lemurs suggests alternative routes in lemur social evolution

Female dominance is a well‐known trait of lemurs, although it has not been reported from all species and is still often unexplored, especially in the nocturnal species. We examined the intersexual dominance relationships in Microcebus ravelobensis, a congener of M. murinus who is well known for its female dominance. Given the many similarities in biology, it was predicted that M. ravelobensis should also possess female dominance. Seventeen unfamiliar male–female pairs were formed with animals captured in northwestern Madagascar and kept in a two‐cage setting (one cage for each animal) for up to 1 week. Four encounter experiments were conducted with each pair. In contrast to the expectations, females were not consistently dominant over their male partners. Only 3 of 17 dyads developed a clear agonistic asymmetry, among which were two cases of male dominance and only one case of female dominance. Because body mass differences did not explain the findings, various other possible explanations are discussed. It is suggested that food may not be the driving factor of female dominance in mouse lemurs. Instead, it is hypothesized that species‐specific differences in the quality of sleeping sites (i.e., tree holes) and in social grouping patterns may better explain why some mouse lemur species have female dominance, whereas others like the golden‐brown mouse lemur do not. It is concluded thatthese arguments and hypotheses may even hold true for other solitary foragers and may thereby lead to a better understanding of the variable social evolution in lemurs and primates in general. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Greening of the coasts: a review of the Perna viridis success story

The green mussel Perna viridis has been receiving a lot of attention from workers working in the research areas of intertidal ecology, aquaculture, pollution monitoring, biofouling, zoogeography and invasion biology. P. viridis is a remarkable species in terms of its ability to reach very high biomass levels, to withstand environmental fluctuations, to concentrate a variety of organic and inorganic environmental pollutants, to colonise artificial marine habitats and to invade new geographic territories. This review collates data available on salient aspects of the distribution, biology and ecology of P. viridis. It is argued that the remarkable success of P. viridis as an invasive species basically stems from its long larval duration, fast growth rate, high fecundity, early maturity, high productivity and ability to withstand fluctuating environmental conditions (temperature, salinity, water turbidity and pollutants). Relevant aspects of the data are compared with the data available for a similar species Perna perna, which too is an invasive species, but to a more limited extent.     

Biological flora of central Europe: Solidago gigantea Aiton

Solidago gigantea is a rhizomatous perennial herb native to northern America and introduced in Europe. It is a serious invader of disturbed mesic sites, often forming dense monospecific stands. We review the literature on taxonomy, morphology, population biology, cytology, physiology, chemistry, and ecology of this species.     

Individuals and the evolution of biological and cultural systems

Recently, it has been suggested that anthropologists could more effectively build scientific theories of cultural evolution by reference to biology rather than social science. In this way, the evolution of cultures might be more usefully viewed as an anolog to the evolution of species. In systematic biology, however, the nature of species continues to be the subject of a long-standing duality of thought. This duality is analogous to the longstanding conflict in anthropology over the nature of culture. We argue, by analogy to Michael Ghiselin’s work on species, that a culture is an individual, not a class, and that cultures, like other individual entities, evolve. This view is highly concordant with concepts of culture formulated in earlier decades of this century. It has also been the philosophical orientation of American archaeology for approximately the last 25 years. We conclude that both biology and anthropology have an equal potential of contributing to a general evolutionary theory.     

Ernst Mayr,the tree of life,and philosophy of biology

Ernst Mayr’s influence on philosophy of biology has given the field a particular perspective on evolution, phylogeny and life in general. Using debates about the tree of life as a guide, I show how Mayrian evolutionary biology excludes numerous forms of life and many important evolutionary processes. Hybridization and lateral gene transfer are two of these processes, and they occur frequently, with important outcomes in all domains of life. Eukaryotes appear to have a more tree-like history because successful lateral events tend to occur among more closely related species, or at a lower frequency, than in prokaryotes, but this is a difference of degree rather than kind. Although the tree of life is especially problematic as a representation of the evolutionary history of prokaryotes, it can function more generally as an illustration of the limitations of a standard evolutionary perspective. Moreover, for philosophers, questions about the tree of life can be applied to the Mayrian inheritance in philosophy of biology. These questions make clear that the dichotomy of life Mayr suggested is based on too narrow a perspective. An alternative to this dichotomy is a multidimensional continuum in which different strategies of genetic exchange bestow greater adaptiveness and evolvability on prokaryotes and eukaryotes.     

Social polymorphism in the Australian small carpenter bee, Ceratina (Neoceratina) australensis

The bee tribe Ceratinini provides important insights into the early stages of sociality. Many arthropods exhibit behaviours precursory to social life, including adult longevity, parental care, nest loyalty and mutual tolerance, yet the origins of social behaviour are few. Here we describe the biology of a facultatively social bee, Ceratina (Neoceratina) australensis, which exhibits all of the preadaptations for successful group living, yet presents ecological and behavioural characteristics that seemingly disfavour frequent colony formation. This species is socially polymorphic with both solitary and social nests collected in sympatry. Social colonies consist of two foundresses, one contributing both foraging and reproductive effort and the second which remains at the nest as a passive guard. Cooperative nesting provides no overt reproductive benefits over solitary nesting in this population, although brood survival tends to be greater in social colonies. Maternal longevity, subsociality and bivoltine nesting phenology in this species favour colony formation, while dispersal habits and offspring longevity may inhibit more frequent social nesting in this and other ceratinines.     

A review of the critics of invasion biology

Herein, I review existing criticisms of the field of invasion biology. Firstly, I identifiy problems of conceptual weaknesses, including disagreements regarding: (i) definitions of invasive, impact, and pristine conditions, and (ii) ecological assumptions such as species equilibrium, niche saturation, and climax communities. Secondly, I discuss methodological problems include the misuse of correlations, biases in impact reviews and risk assessment, and difficulties in predicting the effects of species introductions or eradications. Finally, I analyse the social conflict regarding invasive species management and differences in moral and philosophical foundations. I discuss the recent emergence of alternatives to traditional invasion biology approaches, including the concept of novel ecosystems, conciliation biology, and compassionate conservation. Understanding different value systems will be the first step to reconciling the different perspectives related to this controversial topic.