Periodic Reporting for period 1 - HoBi (Hegel's Philosophy of Biology)
Reporting period: 2018-10-01 to 2020-09-30
The project has addressed Hegel’s philosophical stance concerning the nature of organisms, which in contemporary terms might be defined as his philosophy of biology. The topic is positioned in relation to current debates in both philosophy and biology, including those circulating in major scientific journals, asking “does evolutionary theory need a rethink?” The field of biology is currently witnessing an important transition toward less “reductionist” approaches to life that favor an “organicist” view of living systems. A central implication of this transition is reappraisal of the idea of “organism” that was displaced since the 1940s by the establishment of the modern evolutionary synthesis and the flourishing of molecular biology. In the context of this paradigm shift, reference to frameworks and concepts elaborated by authors belonging to the tradition of classical German philosophy is strikingly frequent and because of this rekindled interest in Classical German thought, extensive literature has recently been devoted to Kant’s philosophy of biology, and his Critique of the Power of Judgment is generally considered the fundamental turning point towards a non-reductionist conception of living organisms. Hegel’s work on this topic, however, remains largely unexplored. This is due to a long-lasting preconception, which originated in the nineteenth century but still reigns today, that his philosophy of nature is a merely speculative effort with no relation to empirical science. The English-speaking world’s recent “Hegel renaissance” has so far not extended to revision of this view. At present, only a few studies have examined Hegel’s philosophy of nature, few of which address his philosophy of biology directly. This German-speaking literature has focused especially on how Hegel related to the scientific context of his time. This work is valuable, but it fails to undermine the prevailing prejudice against Hegel’s philosophy of nature and to convey its relevance for the contemporary debate. The aim of the current proposal is to do precisely that. The project's principal hypothesis is that Hegel’s philosophy of biology can be understood to prefigure the philosophy of biology as it is currently defined in important ways – especially with regards to the ontological nature of biological organization, the role of teleology in biological explanation, and the relation between life and cognition. It is moreover especially relevant in the context of recent challenges to the neo-Darwinian synthesis.
To this effect, the project had four specific research objectives, each of which has been addressed in a distinct stage: 1) To investigate Hegel’s assessment of living organisms, especially with regard to their ontological status, through a detailed analysis of the three parts of the “Organics” section in the last edition of the Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences (§§ 337-376). In particular, the project interrogates Hegel’s views on: (a) Earth sciences (§§ 338-343); (b) Plant nature (§§ 344-349); (c) Animal organisms (§§ 350-376); 2) To investigate Hegel’s assessment of the explanatory function of teleology with regard to living systems by means of a detailed analysis of the three parts of the “Objectivity” sections (mechanism, chemism, teleology) in both the Science of Logic and the Encyclopedia (§§ 194-212); 3) To investigate Hegel’s assessment of the relation between life and cognition through a detailed analysis of the first two parts of the section “Idea” (Life, the Idea of Cognition) in both the Science of Logic and the Encyclopedia (§§ 213-235); 4) To answer the question of whether Hegel’s philosophy of biology can be interpreted as a theory of biological autonomy. The notion of “biological autonomy” was coined by biologists Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela to define the ability of a living system to produce and maintain itself. This framework has been consistently developed in recent decades and is playing a central role in contemporary debates examining mechanistic thinking in biology and the reform of evolutionary theory. My working hypothesis is that the framework of biological autonomy provides the most effective template for re-reading Hegel today and that Hegel’s theory of biological individuality is extremely useful for those who aim to lay the philosophical groundwork for the articulation of a biologically compelling theoretical alternative to the mechanistic conception of life.
1) A special issue of the Hegel Bulletin on the topic of the project has been published in 2020, co-edited by myself and Luca Illetterati (University of Padua). A ‘green’ open-access version of the article is available at the depository of the host institution (https://dial.uclouvain.be/pr/boreal/object/boreal:235281(opens in new window)) 2) A paper manuscript entitled “Teleology and the Organism: Kant's controversial legacy for contemporary biology” co-authored with Auguste Nahas (University of Toronto) has been published to Studies in History and Philosophy of Science. A green open access version is available at the UC Louvain depository (https://dial.uclouvain.be/pr/boreal/object/boreal:262138(opens in new window)). The paper explores the legacy of Kant’s treatment of teleology in contemporary philosophy of biology, and sets the stage for the argument that we need a Hegelian approach. Another paper entitled “Mechanism and Teleology: A Dialectical Approach,” co-authored with Edgar Maraguat (University of Valencia) is currently nearing conclusion and will be submitted by the end of August 2022. The paper explores the meaning of Hegel’s claim according to which “teleology is the truth of mechanism” in relation to contemporary 'neo-mechanistic' approaches to scientific explanation; 3) A paper entitled “Enactivism and the Hegelian stance on intrinsic purposiveness” co-authored with Matteo Mossio (University of Paris I) has been accepted for publication on Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences. The paper explores the connection between intrinsic purposiveness and agency in Hegel, especially in relation to contemporary enactivist approaches to cognitive science. The paper will appear in 'gold' open access; 4) A francophone volume is currently being edited with Olivier Depré (my supervisor at UCLouvain) and David Wittman (ENS Lyon). It will be submitted to publication to Classiques Garnier in September 2022.