Overview
- Comprehensive overview of the philosophical and theoretical debate on the idea of biological autonomy, and its relations with cognitive skills
- Integrated framework for the theory of biological autonomy, that opens up new perspectives for the understanding of biological phenomena
- Enabling a full interaction with existing theories and approaches
- Clearly structured overview of the constitutive, interactive and historical dimension of autonomy
Part of the book series: History, Philosophy and Theory of the Life Sciences (HPTL, volume 12)
Access this book
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Other ways to access
Table of contents (8 chapters)
Keywords
About this book
Since Darwin, Biology has been framed on the idea of evolution by natural selection, which has profoundly influenced the scientific and philosophical comprehension of biological phenomena and of our place in Nature. This book argues that contemporary biology should progress towards and revolve around an even more fundamental idea, that of autonomy. Biological autonomy describes living organisms as organised systems, which are able to self-produce and self-maintain as integrated entities, to establish their own goals and norms, and to promote the conditions of their existence through their interactions with the environment.
Topics covered in this book include organisation and biological emergence, organisms, agency, levels of autonomy, cognition, and a look at the historical dimension of autonomy. The current development of scientific investigations on autonomous organisation calls for a theoretical and philosophical analysis. This can contribute to the elaboration of an original understanding of life - including human life - on Earth, opening new perspectives and enabling fecund interactions with other existing theories and approaches. This book takes up the challenge.
Reviews
“This volume provides a comprehensive overview of issues in the philosophy of biology and how these relate to current concerns of theoretical biology. … book allows a reader interested in understanding the current status of philosophy of biology access to the key issues and contributors as well as the case for the particular approach advocated by Moreno and Massio. … Biological Autonomy could be an effective resource in upper-division courses and graduate seminars on philosophy of biology and/or theoretical biology.” (Bruce H. Weber, Science & Education, November, 2015)
Authors and Affiliations
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Biological Autonomy
Book Subtitle: A Philosophical and Theoretical Enquiry
Authors: Alvaro Moreno, Matteo Mossio
Series Title: History, Philosophy and Theory of the Life Sciences
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9837-2
Publisher: Springer Dordrecht
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and Law, Philosophy and Religion (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
Hardcover ISBN: 978-94-017-9836-5Published: 19 May 2015
Softcover ISBN: 978-94-024-0564-4Published: 23 October 2016
eBook ISBN: 978-94-017-9837-2Published: 04 May 2015
Series ISSN: 2211-1948
Series E-ISSN: 2211-1956
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XXXIV, 221
Number of Illustrations: 19 b/w illustrations
Topics: Philosophy of Biology, Systems Biology, Cognitive Psychology