Can Biological Practice Inform Scientific Metaphysics?

Program

Thursday, June 15th 2017

9 am – 9:15 Welcome

9:15-10:15 “Inductive Metaphysics and Scientific Practice” – Andreas Hüttemann (University of Cologne)

10:15-10:45 Coffee Break

10:45-11:45 “Lessons for Causal Selection from Biological Technology” – Janella Baxter (University of Minnesota)

11:45-11:50 Short Break

11:50-12:50 “Making Use of” – Adrian Currie (University of Cambridge)

12:50-2:50 Lunch

2:50-3:50 “Process Ontology as a Paradigm for Scientifically Grounded Metaphysics?” – John Dupré (University of Exeter)

3:50-4:20 Coffee Break

4:20-5:20 “A Case Study in the Metaphysics of Biological Practice: The Parts of the Human Genome”, Marie Kaiser (University of Bielefeld)

5:20-5:25 Short Break

5:25-6:25 “What are Holobionts? – A Case Study for Hard Questions About Biological Individuality” – Derek Skillings (University of Bordeaux)

7pm Conference Dinner

Friday, June 16th 2017

9:15-10:15 “The spiral, the circle and the microbe: heredity and biological Practice” Eva Boon (Eindhoven University)

10:15-10:45 Coffee Break

10:45-11:45 “Underlying Concept Structure”  Joyce Havstad (Oakland University)

11:45-11:50 Short Break

11:50-12:50 “Individuation and identity: towards a practice-based metaphysics for homology” Catherine Kendig (Michigan State University)

12:50-2:50 Lunch

2:50-3:50 “Metaphysics through Science: The Case of Kinds” Laura Franklin-Hall (New York University)

3:50-4:20 Coffee Break

4:20-5:20 Taxa aren’t kinds, nor are they individuals: Lessons from phylogenetic practice for the metaphysics of biological classification” Thomas Reydon (Leibniz University)

5:20-5:25 Short Break

5:25-6 pm Concluding Discussion