Table Of ContentProcesses of Life
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Processes of Life
Essays in the Philosophy of Biology
e´
John Dupr
1
3
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Contents
Preface vii
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction 1
I. Science
1. TheMiracleofMonism 21
2. What’stheFussaboutSocialConstructivism? 40
3. TheInseparabilityofScienceandValues 55
II. Biology
4. TheConstituentsofLife1:Species,Microbes,andGenes 69
5. TheConstituentsofLife2:OrganismsandSystems 85
6. UnderstandingContemporaryGenomics 101
7. ThePolygenomicOrganism 116
8. ItisnotPossibletoReduceBiologicalExplanationstoExplanations
inChemistryand/orPhysics 128
9. PostgenomicDarwinism 143
III. Microbes
10. SizeDoesn’tMatter:TowardsaMoreInclusivePhilosophyofBiology
With Maureen A. O’Malley 163
11. MetagenomicsandBiologicalOntology
With Maureen A. O’Malley 188
12. VarietiesofLivingThings:LifeattheIntersectionof
LineageandMetabolism
With Maureen O’Malley 206
13. EmergingSciencesandNewConceptionsofDisease:Or,Beyond
theMonogenomicDifferentiatedCellLineage 230
vi CONTENTS
IV. Humans
14. AgainstMaladaptationism:Or,What’sWrongwithEvolutionary
Psychology 245
15. WhatGenesAre,andWhyThereAreNo‘GenesforRace’ 261
16. CausalityandHumanNatureintheSocialSciences 275
Bibliography 295
Index 331
Preface
Aswithallacademicwork,mydebtsaremorenumerousthanIcanlist.Theessaysin
thiscollectionwereallwrittenwhileIwasDirectoroftheESRCCentreforGenomics
in Society (Egenis), and I am deeply indebted to the ESRC (Economic and Social
Research Council, UK) for this very generous support. I have also received major
support from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Lever-
hulme Trust, both of which have made crucial contributions to making this work
possible.
DirectingaResearchCentrehasgivenmethegreatprivilegeofworkingday-to-day
withateamofpeoplewithbothsharedinterestsanddiverseexpertise,somethingthat
Ihavefoundindispensableintryingtogettogripswiththecomplexitiesofcontem-
porarybiology.Aparticularpleasurehasbeenworkingwiththeoriginalco-Directors
of Egenis, Barry Barnes and Steve Hughes. Providing, respectively, the insights of a
pioneerandleaderinthesociologyofscience,andtheinsiderknowledgeofascientist
with a lifetime’s experience at the forefront of genomics, these two colleagues and
friendswereessentialtotheintellectual environment and success ofthecentre.With
BarryIalsohadthepleasureofco-authoringabookongenomics(BarnesandDupre´
2008),aprojectthattaughtmealotaboutmolecularbiology,butalsogavemeamuch
better understanding of Barry’s distinctive and important insights into science in
general.
AnotherobviousdebtistoMaureenO’Malley,withwhomIco-authoredthreeof
the papers here reprinted. Among many talents, Maureen has a unique capacity for
absorbingandsynthesizingscientificideas.ShecametoEgenisafterthreeyearsinthe
laboratory of the leading microbiologist Ford Doolittle in Dalhousie (to whom I am
also thereby indebted), and brought with her an extraordinary grasp of the state of
several areas of current biology, including microbiology. Her collaboration made it
possibleformetomakesomethingofalong-heldbutinchoatesuspicionthatattention
to microbes could transform the philosophy of biology. I must also make special
mention of Christine Hauskeller, a founder member of Egenis, now replacing Barry
Barnes as co-Director. Among her many contributions, she has sometimes had occa-
sion to remind me—in the face of ever more fascinating engagements with contem-
porary biology—that there is more to philosophy of science than science. Other
present and past colleagues at Egenis from whom I have learned much include Jane
Calvert, Paul Griffiths, Susan Kelly, Sabina Leonelli, Staffan Müller-Wille, and Paula
Saukko.
EgenishasbeenfortunatetohavehadastreamoffinePhDstudentspassingthrough
andontoother,ifnotgreater,things,andmanyofthemhave alsoleftmarksonmy
viii PREFACE
thinking. I would particularly mention Ann Barwich, Adam Bostanci, Jonathan
Davies,TrijsjeFranssen,RichardHoldsworth,IngridHolme,Pierre-OlivierMethot,
MilaPetrova,AlexPowell,andKaiWang.AndImustapologizefornotmentioninga
number of other students with whom I did not work closely personally, but who
contributedinmanywaystotheintellectualandsociallifeofthecentre.
MentioningthestaffandstudentsofEgenisistherelativelyeasypart,thougheven
hereIfearthattheremaybeegregiousomissions.Butwehavealsobeenfortunateto
be able to host a good number of conferences and workshops, visitors over various
periodsoftime,andanalmostweeklyseriesofseminarspeakers.Ontopofthis,Ihave
hadtheopportunitytopresentpartsofthisworkatconferences,seminars,andlecture
seriesinmanypartsoftheworld.ConsequentlyIhavebenefitedfrominteractionswith
farmorepeoplethanIcouldpossiblyrecalltogiveproperthanks.Istartedtowritea
list,butafterthefirstdozenorsonames,Irealizedthetaskwashopeless;Ihavebeenin
theacademicworldtoolongtocountmydebtsor,morehappily,tolistmyfriendships.
Butthankstoall;Ihopeyouknowwhoyouare.Somespecificdebtsarementionedin
footnotestoindividualchapters.
AmajordeterminantofwhetherlifeisapleasureoraburdenasaCentreDirectoris
theadministrativestaff,andhereIhavebeenveryfortunate.Veryspecialthanksgoto
CherylSutton,theperfectresearchadministrator.CheryleffectivelyrantheCentrefor
sevenyears,shieldingmefromvastquantitiesofadministrativeroutineandannoyance
and thereby doing more than anyone to allow me to write. Her successor, Sue
Harding, has an impossible act to follow, but has made a good start. Egenis and
I have also been splendidly served by Annalisa Macnamara, Sarah Silverman, Saira
Kidangan, and Laura Dobb; and by our communications officers, Ginny Russell
(subsequentlyaPhDstudentandResearchFellowhere)andClairePackman.
Finally,asalways,mygreatestdebtistomypartner,RegeniaGagnier.Notonlyhas
she had to put up with my occasional stress and cover for my domestic absences as
variousdemandsofresearchdirectingspilledintomyhomelife,butshehasremained
my most reliable and insightful critic and commentator. That her work is not more
cited in these essays reflectsthedepthof her involvementin it,which makes specific
contributionsimpossibletoidentify.AndspecialthankstoAlexPowellforhissplendid
workontheindex.Thebookisdedicatedtoourcollaborationontheprocessesoflife,
oursonsGabrielandJulianGagnierDupre´.
Acknowledgements
Permission is gratefully acknowledged from the original publishers to reprint the
following:
‘TheMiracleofMonism’,fromNaturalisminQuestion,ed.DavidMacArthurandMariodeCaro,
Cambridge,MA:HarvardUniversityPress,2004,pp.36–58.
‘What’stheFussaboutSocialConstructivism?’Episteme1,2004:73–85.
‘The Inseparability of Science and Values’, from Value-Free Science: Ideals and Illusions, ed.
H.Kincaid,J.Dupre´,andA.Wylie,NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress,2007,pp.27-41.
TheConstituentsofLife,Amsterdam:VanGorcum,2008.
‘UnderstandingContemporaryGenomics’.PerspectivesonScience12,2004:320–38.
‘ThePolygenomicOrganism’,fromNatureAftertheGenome,ed.S.ParryandJ.Dupre´,Oxford:
Blackwell,2010,pp.19–31.
‘It is not Possible to Reduce Biological Explanations to Explanations in Chemistry and/or
Physics’,fromContemporaryDebatesinPhilosophyofBiology,ed.R.ArpandF.J.Ayala,New
York:JohnWiley,2010,pp.32–47.
‘PostgenomicDarwinism’,fromDarwin,ed.W.BrownandA.Fabian,Cambridge:Cambridge
UniversityPress,2010,pp.150–71.
‘SizeDoesn’tMatter:TowardsaMoreInclusivePhilosophyofBiology’.BiologyandPhilosophy
22,2007:155–91.
‘MetagenomicsandBiologicalOntology’.StudiesintheHistoryandPhilosophyoftheBiologicaland
BiomedicalSciences38,2007:834–46.
‘VarietiesofLivingThings:LifeattheIntersectionofLineageandMetabolism’.Philosophyand
TheoryinBiology1,2009(http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.6959004.0001.003).
‘EmergingSciencesandNewConceptionsofDisease:Or,BeyondtheMonogenomicDiffer-
entiatedCellLineage’.EuropeanJournalforthePhilosophyofScience1(2011):119–31.
‘AgainstMaladaptationism:Or,What’sWrongwithEvolutionaryPsychology’,fromKnowledge
asSocialOrder:Rethinking theSociologyofBarryBarnes,ed.M.Mazzotti, Aldershot:Ashgate,
2008,pp.165–80.
‘WhatGenesAre,andWhyThereAreNo“GenesforRace”’,fromRevisitingRaceinaGenomic
Age,ed.BarbaraA.Koenig,SandraSoo-JinLee,andSarahRichardson,NewBrunswick,NJ:
RutgersUniversityPress,2008,pp.39–55.
‘Causality and Human Nature in the Social Sciences’. Ko¨lner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und
Sozialpsychologie, 50th Anniversary Special Edition: Controversies in Sociological Theory,
2010:507–25.
