WHEN SPECIES MEET - Donna Haraway (2024)

'Inter-identities' in Life, Mind, and Society, 2019

In this article, we propose to critically evaluate whether a closure of constraints interpretation can make sense of biotic entrenchment, the process of assimilation and functional integration of environmental elements of biotic origin in development and, eventually, evolution. In order to achieve the aims of our analysis, we shall focus on multi-species partnerships, biological systems characterised by ontogenetic dependencies of various strengths between the partners. Our main research question is to tackle the foundational problem posed by the dynamics of biotic entrenchment characterising multi-species partnerships for the closure of constraints interpretation, namely, to understand for which biological system (i.e., the partners taken individually or the partnership as the encompassing system) closure of constraints is realised. Through the analysis of significant illustrative examples, we shall progressively refine the closure thesis and articulate an answer to our main research question. We shall also propose that biotic entrenchment provides a chief example of the phenomenon of interactive and horizontal construction of biological individuality and inter-identity. The characterisation of the criteria for the individuation of developing and evolving living entities is one of the main issues in the philosophy of biology and theoretical biology. From a Darwinian perspective, based on the notion of unit of selection, organisms represent just one individual amongst many possible types. This notion should be contrasted to that of physiological individual focused on functional integration 1. The autopoietic approach is an important instance of the latter. Autopoiesis, as its name suggests (a term with Greek etymology from auto = self and poiesis = production), is a theory characterising organismal life in 1 Physiological and evolutionary accounts are complementary and, sometimes, integrative. For instance, Queller and Strassmann (2016) characterise individuality as the achievement of functional adaptive coherence or "organismality, " a property of biological systems that is not categorical but continuous. Conversely, some physiological accounts take into account the evolutionary dimension of biological individuality, especially insofar as the origin of new organisations is concerned (Moreno and Mossio, 2015).

Biology & Philosophy, 2007

Scapegoat Journal

Analysis 73 (2): 380-387, 2013

Semiotic Review, 2013

The early results of the Human Microbiome Project, released in June 2012, add to the overwhelming data that show that there are literally trillions of microbes that live in and on each human individual. This research raises profound questions about what it even means to be an individual organism, human or otherwise. In this paper, we ask two broad questions: 1) How might we conceive of an individual organism, given these results? and 2) In light of this emerging conception of the individual organism, what are the implications for how humans might conceive of their own self-sufficiency and their subsequent attitudes and behaviors toward other members of the living world? We attempt to highlight the ontological and political presuppositions animating this research and offer suggestions for how to understand the individual living organism as an emerging whole. For guidance, we return to Aristotle as offering insights in how to conceive of a diverse community of interdependent living parts that function together as one. In turn, we explore the implications of how thinking of individuals as functioning communities might prompt new attitudes and behaviors toward the microbial living world."Microbiome. Modern Selves. Self-Sufficiency. Co-Authored with Dr. Gregory Schneider. "

Published in: THAUMAZEIN 8, pp. 260-274., 2020

After the discovery of the DNA in the 1950´s, 20th century biology focused on the concept of the gene. In the 21st century, however,the concept of organism is regaining its primary role in biologicalthought. At present there is a rapidly growing literature verifying thatliving beings are able not only to deeply reorganize themselves but alsoto modify their genomes. The emergence of a theory of organism requires, however, first the elaboration of a logic of organismic causality that proceeds from organismic phenomenality. In the following I will attempt to outline what I label "logic of organisms." In order to achieve this aim I will first try to articulate a "logic of mechanisms" because it constitutes a sharp contrast to the "logic of organisms."

New Genetics and Society, 2009

Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, 2015

Psychologists and psychiatrists tend to be little aware that (a) microbes in our brains and guts are capable of altering our behavior; (b) viral DNA that was incorporated into our DNA millions of years ago is implicated in mental disorders; (c) many of us carry the cells of another human in our brains; and (d) under the regulation of viruslike elements, the paternally inherited and maternally inherited copies of some genes compete for domination in the offspring, on whom they have opposite physical and behavioral effects. This article provides a broad overview, aimed at a wide readership, of the consequences of our coexistence with these selfish entities. The overarching message is that we are not unitary individuals but superorganisms, built out of both human and nonhuman elements; it is their interaction that determines who we are.

Monist, 2006

The American Biology Teacher, 2001

Microbial biotechnology, 2018

The Human Microbiome, as well as the exploration of the microorganisms inhabiting the human body, are not only integral to the field of microbiology but represent an intrinsic part of all human beings. Consequently, along with scientists, artists have been inspired by the microbiome: transforming it in to tangible artefacts in order to critically question, reflect on and break down the barrier between humans and their microcohabitants. By artistic means, artists help us to understand how microbial research topics are inevitably affected by societal influences, including (health) politics, economics and the arts. Fifty Percent Human is a multidisciplinary artistic research project that aims to reshape our understanding of the human body and its environment as well as to explore possibilities for conscious coexistence in order to bridge the gap between science and society.

Symbiosis, 2018

SymbiosisSymbiosis plays a fundamental role in contemporary biology, as well as in recent thinking in philosophy of biology. The discovery of the importance and universality of symbiotic associations has brought new light to old debates in the field, including issues about the concept of biological individuality. An important aspect of these debates has been the formulation of the hologenome concept of evolution, the notion that holobionts are units of natural selection in evolution. This review examines the philosophical assumptions that underlie recent proposal of the hologenome concept of evolution, and traces those debates back in time to their historical origins, to the moment when the connection between the topics of symbiosis and biological individuality first came to the attention of biologists. The review is divided in two parts. The first part explores the historical origins of the connection between the notion of symbiosis and the concept of biological individuality, and emphasizes the role of A. de Bary, R. Pound, A. Schneider and C. Merezhkowsky in framing the debate. The second part examines the hologenome concept of evolution and explores four parallelisms between contemporary debates and the debates presented in the first part of the essay, arguing that the different debates raised by the hologenome concept were already present in the literature. I suggest that the novelty of the hologenome concept of evolution lies in the wider appreciation of the importance of symbiosis for maintaining life on Earth as we know it. Finally, I conclude by suggesting the importance of exploring the connections among contemporary biology, philosophy of biology and history of biology in order to gain a better understanding of contemporary biology.Keywords:

Heredity, 2004

Endeavour, 2022

While in the humanities and social sciences at large we can observe posthumanist developments that engage with the microbiome, microbes are still not a major topic of discussion within environmental ethics. That the environmental ethics literature has not engaged extensively with this topic is surprising considering the range of theoretical challenges (and opportunities) it poses for environmental theorising. So, this paper is 'looking through the microscope' from an environmental ethics angle in order to see how these little beings challenge what we consider to be ethically relevant and how we conduct moral theorising. Especially interesting is how a focus on microbes can simultaneously support and challenge individualist biocentric intuitions and theories, which attribute moral standing to (some) microbes. Accordingly, the main aim of this paper is to lay out crucial aspects of these challenges and present some initial arguments about why not all of them pose a serious threat to biocentric theorising-including biocentric theories of interspecies justice. The three challenges discussed are (1) the moral significance challenge, (2) the self-defence predicament, and (3) undermining individualist biocentric intuitions.

Current Opinion in Microbiology, 2016

Environmental Ethics, 2008

Biology & Philosophy, 2013

This paper examines David Hull’s and Peter Godfrey-Smith’s accounts of biological individuality using the case of biofilms. Biofilms fail standard criteria for individuality, such as having reproductive bottlenecks and forming parent-offspring lineages. Nevertheless, biofilms are good candidates for individuals. The nature of biofilms shows that Godfrey-Smith’s account of individuality, with its reliance on reproduction, is too restrictive. Hull’s interactor notion of individuality better captures biofilms, and we argue that it offers a better account of biological individuality. However, Hull’s notion of interactor needs more precision. We suggest some ways to make Hull’s notion of interactor and his account of individuality more precise. Generally, we maintain that biofilms are a good test case for theories of individuality, and a careful examination of biofilms furthers our understanding of biological individuality.