A Part-Dependent Account of Biological Individuality for Multispecies Consortia
Abstract
This article introduces and defends a part-dependent ontology to conceive of biological individuality in conglomerates formed by organisms of multiple species. According to the part-dependent ontology, the characterization of a set or conglomerate of independent taxa as a biological individual must be based on the relationship that a specific part of that set maintains with the rest, the relationship that the rest of the parts of the set maintain with that specific part being irrelevant. Moreover, it is argued that the biological dependency relationships between the parts of a set can be asymmetric, without this affecting the attribution of individuality to said set. It is also pointed out that such a part-dependent characterization is valid not only for ideas of individuality based on evolution, but also for those based on physiology, or immunology, among others. This makes part-dependent ontology compatible with pluralism over biological individuality.
- Referencias
- Cómo citar
- Del mismo autor
- Métricas
Baedke, J. (2019). What Is a Biological Individual? En J. Martín-Durán y B. Vellutini (eds.), Old Questions and Young Approaches to Animal Evolution. Fascinating Life Sciences. Cham: Springer.
Clarke, E. (2010). The problem of biological individuality. Biological Theory, 5(4), 312-325.
Deulofeu, R., Suárez, J. (2018). When Mechanisms Are Not Enough: The Origin of Eukaryotes and Scientific Explanation. En A. Christian, D. Hommen, N. Retzlaff y G. Schurz (eds.), Philosophy of Science. European Studies in Philosophy of Science, vol 9. Cham: Springer.
DiFrisco, J. (2017). Kinds of biological individuals: Sortals, projectability, and selection. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 70(3), 845-875.
Dupré, J., O’Malley, M.A. (2009). Varieties of living things: Life at the intersection of lineage and metabolism. Philosophy, Theory and Practice in Biology, 1, 1.
Engelhard, K., Feldbacher-Escamilla, C.J., Gebharter, A., Seide, A. (2021). Inductive Metaphysics, Grazer Philosophische Studien, 98(1), 1-26.
French, S., McKenzie, K. (2015). Rethinking outside the toolbox: Reflecting again on the relationship between philosophy of science and metaphysics. En T. Bigaj, y C. Wüthrich (eds.), Metaphysics in contemporary physics, Poznan studies in the philosophy of the sciences and the humanities (Vol. 104, pp. 25-54). Brill: Rodopi.
Gilbert, S., Sapp, J., Tauber, A. (2012). A symbiotic view of life: We have never been individuals. The Quarterly Review of Biology, 87(4), 325-341.
Godfrey-Smith, P. (2009). Darwinian Populations and Natural Selection. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Godfrey-Smith, P. (2011). Agents and acacias: replies to Dennett, Sterelny, and Queller. Biology & Philosophy, 26(4), 501-515.
Godfrey-Smith, P. (2013). Darwinian individuals. En F. Bouchard y P. Huneman (eds.), From group to individuals: Evolution and emerging individuality. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.
Haber, M. (2016). The biological and the mereological: Metaphysical implications of the individuality thesis. En A. Guay y T. Pradeu (eds.), Individuals across the sciences (pp. 295-316). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Huneman, P. (2014). Individuality as a Theoretical Scheme. I. Formal and Material Concepts of Individuality. Biological Theory, 9, 361-373.
Kaiser, M. (2018). Individuating part-whole relations in the biological world. En O. Bueno, R.-L. Chen, M. Fagan (eds.), Individuation, process and scientific practices (pp. 63-90). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kaiser, M. (2019). Normativity in the philosophy of science. Metaphilosophy, 50, 36-62.
Lidgard, S., Nyhart, L.K. (2017). Biological individuality: Integrating scientific, historical and philosophical perspectives. London: The University of Chicago Press.
Lloyd, E. A. (2017). Units and levels of selection. En E. N. Zalta (ed.): The Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/selection-units/
Lloyd, E. A., Wade, M. J. (2019). Criteria for Holobionts from Community Genetics. Biological Theory, 14(3), 151-70.
Martín-Villuendas, M. (2021). Una reconsideración pluralista del concepto de herencia. Contrastes. Revista Internacional de Filosofía, 26(3), 25-47.
Mendoza, M. L. Z., Xiong, Z., Escalera-Zamudio, M., et al. (2018). Hologenomic adaptations underlying the evolution of sanguivory in the common vampire bat. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 2, 659-668.
Molter, D.J. (2019). On mycorrhizal individuality. Biology and Philosophy, 34, 34-52.
Moran, N. (2006). Symbiosis. Current Biology, 16(20), R866-71.
Morillas, L., Roales, J., Cruz, C., Munzi, S. (2022). Lichen as Multipartner Symbiotic Relationships. Encyclopedia, 2(3), 1421-1431. https://doi.org/10.3390/encyclopedia2030096
Okasha, S. (2018). Agents and Goals in Evolution. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Olszak, T., An, D., et al. (2012). Microbial exposure during early life has persistent effects on natural killer T cell function. Science, 336, 489-493.
Pradeu, T. (2010). What is an organism? An immunological answer. History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences, 32(3), 227-247.
Pradeu, T. (2012). The limits of the self: Immunology and biological identity. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Pradeu, T. (2016). The many faces of biological individuality. Biology and Philosophy, 31, 761-773.
Pradeu, T. (2020). Philosophy of biology: immunology and individuality. eLife, 8, e47384.
Smith, S. (2017). Organisms as persisters. Philosophy, Theory and Practice in Biology, 9, 14.
Stappenbeck, T.S., Hooper, L.V., et al. (2002). Developmental regulation of intestinal angiogenesis by indigenous microbes via Paneth cells. PNAS, 99, 15451-15455.
Suárez, J. (2019). The Hologenome Concept of Evolution: A Philosophical and Biological Study. PhD Dissertation. University of Exeter.
Suárez, J. (2020). The stability of traits conception of the hologenome: An evolutionary account of holobiont individuality. History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences, 42, 11.
Suárez, J. (2021). El Holobionte/Hologenoma Como Nivel de Selección: Una Aproximación a La Evolución de Los Consorcios de Múltiples Especies. Theoria, 36(1), 81-112.
Suárez, J., Stencel, A. (2020). A part-dependent account of biological individuality: Why holobionts are individuals and ecosystems simultaneously. Biological Reviews, 95(5), 1308-1324.
Suárez, J., Triviño, V. (2020). What Is a Hologenomic Adaptation? Emergent Individuality and Inter-Identity in Multispecies Systems. Front. Psychol., 11, 187.
Triviño, V., Suárez, J. (2020). Holobionts: ecological communities, hybrids, or biological individuals? A metaphysical perspective on multispecies systems. Studies in the History and Philosophy of Science Part C, 84, 101323.
Clarke, E. (2010). The problem of biological individuality. Biological Theory, 5(4), 312-325.
Deulofeu, R., Suárez, J. (2018). When Mechanisms Are Not Enough: The Origin of Eukaryotes and Scientific Explanation. En A. Christian, D. Hommen, N. Retzlaff y G. Schurz (eds.), Philosophy of Science. European Studies in Philosophy of Science, vol 9. Cham: Springer.
DiFrisco, J. (2017). Kinds of biological individuals: Sortals, projectability, and selection. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 70(3), 845-875.
Dupré, J., O’Malley, M.A. (2009). Varieties of living things: Life at the intersection of lineage and metabolism. Philosophy, Theory and Practice in Biology, 1, 1.
Engelhard, K., Feldbacher-Escamilla, C.J., Gebharter, A., Seide, A. (2021). Inductive Metaphysics, Grazer Philosophische Studien, 98(1), 1-26.
French, S., McKenzie, K. (2015). Rethinking outside the toolbox: Reflecting again on the relationship between philosophy of science and metaphysics. En T. Bigaj, y C. Wüthrich (eds.), Metaphysics in contemporary physics, Poznan studies in the philosophy of the sciences and the humanities (Vol. 104, pp. 25-54). Brill: Rodopi.
Gilbert, S., Sapp, J., Tauber, A. (2012). A symbiotic view of life: We have never been individuals. The Quarterly Review of Biology, 87(4), 325-341.
Godfrey-Smith, P. (2009). Darwinian Populations and Natural Selection. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Godfrey-Smith, P. (2011). Agents and acacias: replies to Dennett, Sterelny, and Queller. Biology & Philosophy, 26(4), 501-515.
Godfrey-Smith, P. (2013). Darwinian individuals. En F. Bouchard y P. Huneman (eds.), From group to individuals: Evolution and emerging individuality. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.
Haber, M. (2016). The biological and the mereological: Metaphysical implications of the individuality thesis. En A. Guay y T. Pradeu (eds.), Individuals across the sciences (pp. 295-316). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Huneman, P. (2014). Individuality as a Theoretical Scheme. I. Formal and Material Concepts of Individuality. Biological Theory, 9, 361-373.
Kaiser, M. (2018). Individuating part-whole relations in the biological world. En O. Bueno, R.-L. Chen, M. Fagan (eds.), Individuation, process and scientific practices (pp. 63-90). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kaiser, M. (2019). Normativity in the philosophy of science. Metaphilosophy, 50, 36-62.
Lidgard, S., Nyhart, L.K. (2017). Biological individuality: Integrating scientific, historical and philosophical perspectives. London: The University of Chicago Press.
Lloyd, E. A. (2017). Units and levels of selection. En E. N. Zalta (ed.): The Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/selection-units/
Lloyd, E. A., Wade, M. J. (2019). Criteria for Holobionts from Community Genetics. Biological Theory, 14(3), 151-70.
Martín-Villuendas, M. (2021). Una reconsideración pluralista del concepto de herencia. Contrastes. Revista Internacional de Filosofía, 26(3), 25-47.
Mendoza, M. L. Z., Xiong, Z., Escalera-Zamudio, M., et al. (2018). Hologenomic adaptations underlying the evolution of sanguivory in the common vampire bat. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 2, 659-668.
Molter, D.J. (2019). On mycorrhizal individuality. Biology and Philosophy, 34, 34-52.
Moran, N. (2006). Symbiosis. Current Biology, 16(20), R866-71.
Morillas, L., Roales, J., Cruz, C., Munzi, S. (2022). Lichen as Multipartner Symbiotic Relationships. Encyclopedia, 2(3), 1421-1431. https://doi.org/10.3390/encyclopedia2030096
Okasha, S. (2018). Agents and Goals in Evolution. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Olszak, T., An, D., et al. (2012). Microbial exposure during early life has persistent effects on natural killer T cell function. Science, 336, 489-493.
Pradeu, T. (2010). What is an organism? An immunological answer. History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences, 32(3), 227-247.
Pradeu, T. (2012). The limits of the self: Immunology and biological identity. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Pradeu, T. (2016). The many faces of biological individuality. Biology and Philosophy, 31, 761-773.
Pradeu, T. (2020). Philosophy of biology: immunology and individuality. eLife, 8, e47384.
Smith, S. (2017). Organisms as persisters. Philosophy, Theory and Practice in Biology, 9, 14.
Stappenbeck, T.S., Hooper, L.V., et al. (2002). Developmental regulation of intestinal angiogenesis by indigenous microbes via Paneth cells. PNAS, 99, 15451-15455.
Suárez, J. (2019). The Hologenome Concept of Evolution: A Philosophical and Biological Study. PhD Dissertation. University of Exeter.
Suárez, J. (2020). The stability of traits conception of the hologenome: An evolutionary account of holobiont individuality. History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences, 42, 11.
Suárez, J. (2021). El Holobionte/Hologenoma Como Nivel de Selección: Una Aproximación a La Evolución de Los Consorcios de Múltiples Especies. Theoria, 36(1), 81-112.
Suárez, J., Stencel, A. (2020). A part-dependent account of biological individuality: Why holobionts are individuals and ecosystems simultaneously. Biological Reviews, 95(5), 1308-1324.
Suárez, J., Triviño, V. (2020). What Is a Hologenomic Adaptation? Emergent Individuality and Inter-Identity in Multispecies Systems. Front. Psychol., 11, 187.
Triviño, V., Suárez, J. (2020). Holobionts: ecological communities, hybrids, or biological individuals? A metaphysical perspective on multispecies systems. Studies in the History and Philosophy of Science Part C, 84, 101323.
Suárez, J. (2023). A Part-Dependent Account of Biological Individuality for Multispecies Consortia. Artefactos. Philosophical Studies on Science and Technology, 12(1), 55–78. https://doi.org/10.14201/art20231215578
Similar Articles
- Ariel Goldraij, The nature of proper functions in the products of synthetic biology , Artefactos. Philosophical Studies on Science and Technology: Vol. 13 No. 2 (2024): Embracing the Interdisciplinary Nature of STS Studies
- Oscar David Caicedo Machacon, Rene J. Campis, Eduardo Bermúdez Barrera, Social Mechanisms, Antropomorphism and Cognitive Processes in Non-Human Animals. 40 Years after Chimpanzee Politics , Artefactos. Philosophical Studies on Science and Technology: Vol. 13 No. 1 (2024): Philosophical Primatology: Reflections on the Work of Frans de Waal
- Joaquín Suárez-Ruíz, Augusto Luisi, Fernando Manzini, ‘Somatic marker’ in an evolutionary key: on Antonio Damasio’s contribution to the articulation between neuroscience and philosophy , Artefactos. Philosophical Studies on Science and Technology: Vol. 14 (2025)
- Julio Torres Meléndez, Claudia Muñoz Tobar, Homology and Critical Anthropomorphization , Artefactos. Philosophical Studies on Science and Technology: Vol. 13 No. 1 (2024): Philosophical Primatology: Reflections on the Work of Frans de Waal
- Frans B. M., Normatividad natural: el “es” y el “debe” del comportamiento animal , Artefactos. Philosophical Studies on Science and Technology: Vol. 13 No. 1 (2024): Philosophical Primatology: Reflections on the Work of Frans de Waal
- Guido I. Prieto, ‘Organism’ Versus ‘Biological Individual’: The Missing Demarcation , Artefactos. Philosophical Studies on Science and Technology: Vol. 12 No. 1 (2023): Philosophy of Organismal Biology: From Ontogeny to Ecology and Evolution
- Yulfren Jhonattan González Ramírez, From unconcealment to explosion: Heidegger and García Bacca, about the essence of the technique , Artefactos. Philosophical Studies on Science and Technology: Vol. 14 (2025)
- Juan Pablo Piñeiro, Melina Levy, Yanina Amarilla, Theoretical assumptions about the R&D function in the CONEAU Institutional Evaluation. The case of the Universidad Nacional de La Matanza , Artefactos. Philosophical Studies on Science and Technology: Vol. 13 No. 2 (2024): Embracing the Interdisciplinary Nature of STS Studies
- José Alejandro López-Jiménez, Institutionalized lives. Scientific paths and social structures , Artefactos. Philosophical Studies on Science and Technology: Vol. 14 (2025)
- Lorenzo Delgado Gómez-Escalonilla, R&D policy in the United States and the background of science diplomacy. Historical insights , Artefactos. Philosophical Studies on Science and Technology: Vol. 14 (2025)
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
+
−