1. Historicity and theory

    This Diverse Format Session will discuss some biological principles and notions that, we submit, should be integrated into the theoretical concepts of biology. Overall, these notions delineate an organism-centered biological science, by shifting the focus to the wholes rather than their parts. In particular, the session will examine how the adoption of these principles and notions fundamentally challenges the received view on biological explanation. The first notion is purposiveness. There is recent literature suggesting that biological organization can be interpreted as self-determining, and thereby intrinsically purposive (Mossio & Bich, 2017). Accepting the intrinsic purposiveness notion implies accepting a circular determination between the parts and the whole and thus a challenge to a mechanistic explanation of biological organization. The second notion is variation. In some recent studies (Montévil et al., 2016), biological variation is understood in terms of the emergence of changes that cannot be prestated. As such, biological variation challenges the very possibility of generalized formal models in biology. The third notion (Soto et al, 2016), is the biological default state according to which cells constantly grow, change shape, proliferate, and move. Because of this default state, the explanation of biological phenomena involving motility and proliferation is reversed, to the extent that what is to be accounted for is their absence (quiescence). The fourth notion is agency, which designates the capacity of organisms to behave in interaction with the environment and other organisms in a purposeful, normative, and functional way. Among other things, the conception of organisms as agents radically modifies evolutionary explanations (Jäger, 2023), insofar as agents are not only the result of selective processes, but they also actively shape selective processes. The session will consist of four short presentations (15 minutes each, maximum), followed by a discussion of 30 minutes at least, in which we will explore the capacity of these concepts to advance biological explanation, as well as their (deep) conceptual connections.

  2. Biology lies at an epistemological interface

    • M Montévil
      .
    • en
    • Sustainable interfaces for complex systems analysis and understanding – spacetime in the living systems and their integral development
    • Campus Bio-Medico, University of Rome, Rome, Italie.

  3. De la théorie des jeux au jeu du vivant

    La théorie des jeux de Von Neumann propose une vision cybernétique et panoptique des différentes typologies de jeux dans le contexte géopolitique de la guerre froide. Cette approche mathématique qui a montré son efficacité aux débuts de l’informatique nous projette dans un contexte pourtant très différent de notre situation contemporaine dominé par l’approche statistique du monde. Comment à la fois « se jouer » de cette tendance statistique et dépasser le cadre réducteur de la théorie des jeux ? N’est-ce pas ce que fait le vivant lui-même ? Cette session ouvrira à la question du « jeu » du vivant et comment il peut inspirer de nouveau modèle de jeu.

  6. Architectonique théorique en biologie et applications

    Si la physique, notamment la mécanique classique, a largement été mobilisée comme modèle de la compréhension théorique de la nature, la biologie a dans une certaine mesure, réussi à s'en détacher avec la théorie de l'évolution, une théorie où l'historicité est première. Néanmoins, cette innovation épistémologique et méthodologique n'est pas miscible avec la méthode de théorisation physique et il s'ensuit une étrange cohabitation dont les enjeux sont rarement traités. Nous proposerons des directions pour repenser la théorisation en biologie en insistant sur le concept de nouveau possible. Nous montrerons aussi que ce travail permet de mieux comprendre des phénomènes biologiques cruciaux : la disruption des organisations biologique dans l'Anthropocène.

  7. Modeling organogenesis from biological first principles

    The Qbio initiative at Institut Pasteur is organising a two-day symposium in Paris on December 12th and 13th 2022 which will cover the interplay between mechanics, evolution, morphogenesis and development. This symposium is meant to be an open platform for discussion between physicists, mathematicians and biologists on relevant biological questions, and to foster interactions between topics/systems which normally have few occasions to interact.

  8. Principles of beginning

    • D Dwivedi
      D Dwivedi
      ,
      S Mohan
      S Mohan
      &
      M Montévil
      M Montévil
      .
    • en
    • 10h30-12h30, Salle des Actes, École Normale Supérieure

    The other beginning of philosophy arrives through a rethinking of the very meaning of beginning. The beginning in this case involves those philosophical works and intuitions from out of which one begins. The political and ethical questions arose from within and from outside of the philosophical archives of the past that are also demanding a new sense for "the history of philosophy. The deepest pre-conceptions of metaphysics which informs the sciences are being evaluated from out of the stasis in which several of the scientific pursuits find themselves today. For these reasons, the meaning of beginning is nothing simple.

  9. K as in "kaleidoscope"

    This webinar will be our eleventh meeting within the series of The Alphabet of Complexity webinars. The letter K (as in “kaleidoscope”) will guide us through the main questions of the day: What are the paradigms we live by? What are the implications of research which is genome-centred and how to compare it with the research based on the organism-oriented scientific paradigm? The lectures of three key speakers (Giuseppe Longo, Angelika Hilbeck, Maël Montévil) will be followed by a discussion on how these specific paradigms can inform our actions for the purity of seeds and against GMOs.

  10. Intersecting paths across mathematics, biology, and epistemology: A colloquium in honor of giuseppe longo and ana soto

    In this colloquium, we celebrate the 75th birthdays of Giuseppe Longo and Ana Soto. We have chosen to show their distinct trajectories and then how they intersect while working on the foundations of theoretical knowledge with a biology focus. In this respect, both Giuseppe Longo and Ana Soto maintain a close relationship with philosophy and philosophers. At the same time, both are also involved in “the life of the polis”, this is, addressing the repercussions of science in society and the environment, both as scientists and intellectuals.

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