Periodic Reporting for period 4 - LIFEMODE (Possible Life: The Philosophical Significance of Extending Biology)
Reporting period: 2023-12-01 to 2024-09-30
Recent technological advances have enabled scientists to construct novel biological systems in the laboratory and to study possible extraterrestrial life. These newly discovered biological possibilities may challenge our concept of life, and they also have fundamental philosophical implications. The question that motivates the project is: How is biology extended beyond actual evolved life on Earth - and what are the philosophical implications of this turn to possible life? Through an unconventional combination of empirical studies and philosophical analysis, the project has sought to bring recent advances in the biological sciences into dialogue with philosophical discussion.
In Part A of the project, the research team looked at the emerging fields of synthetic biology and astrobiology to understand how new developments in the biological sciences can contribute to our understanding of life and its possibilities beyond known terrestrial life. In Part B, the team addressed philosophical questions and discussions to which synthetic biology and astrobiology research were expected to contribute. The empirical studies of Part A were used as a resource for the development of philosophical theory in three main areas: (i) modeling and simulation of possibilities, (ii) multiple realizability of biological functions and organization, and (iii) possibilities, contingencies and necessities in biology.
The project has important implications for society because it investigates how models are used to explore different kinds of projections, possible scenarios, and future trajectories. It is important for the public and policymakers alike to understand how different model-based possibilities depend on the methods used and the assumptions made. The project also aimed to provide a finer-grained understanding of what kinds of general principles are thought to govern biological systems, and whether biology might be multiply realizable.
In Part A of the project, the research team looked at the emerging fields of synthetic biology and astrobiology to understand how new developments in the biological sciences can contribute to our understanding of life and its possibilities beyond known terrestrial life. In Part B, the team addressed philosophical questions and discussions to which synthetic biology and astrobiology research were expected to contribute. The empirical studies of Part A were used as a resource for the development of philosophical theory in three main areas: (i) modeling and simulation of possibilities, (ii) multiple realizability of biological functions and organization, and (iii) possibilities, contingencies and necessities in biology.
The project has important implications for society because it investigates how models are used to explore different kinds of projections, possible scenarios, and future trajectories. It is important for the public and policymakers alike to understand how different model-based possibilities depend on the methods used and the assumptions made. The project also aimed to provide a finer-grained understanding of what kinds of general principles are thought to govern biological systems, and whether biology might be multiply realizable.
In Part A of the project, the research team conducted empirical studies to serve as scientific cases for the philosophical work in Part B of the project. The key topics addressed in Part A of the project were unnatural biochemical bases and organizational principles of life, synthetic life, evolutionary possibilities and constraints, and the habitability of exoplanets. Empirical studies at six leading laboratories and research institutions in Europe and the USA were used to investigate these topics. This empirical part of the project involved research visits, participant observation, informal discussions with the scientists, and interviews. Several other scholars whose work was relevant to the key issues in Part A of the project were also interviewed. The many insights into the practice of science were useful for the philosophical analysis.
Part B of the project consisted of three subprojects: “Modeling”, “Multiple Realizability”, and “Modalities”.
The subproject “Modeling”, addressed various more general aspects of scientific modeling and the study of interdisciplinary model transfer between engineering, physics and biological sciences. The main results of this work were a novel holistic account of idealization and the new notion of model template, which addresses the question of how formal methods are disseminated across disciplinary boundaries, e.g. from physics to the biological sciences. The work on interdisciplinary model templates consisted of case studies, but to track them from databases of preprints, the group also developed state-of-the-art methods of unsupervised machine learning.
The “Multiple Realizability” subproject addressed the question of whether different biological functions and capacities could be achieved by different kinds of material realizers. While the multiple realizability thesis has been contested in philosophical discussions, the project showed that multiple realizability functions as a design heuristic for practicing scientists in synthetic biology. Furthermore, the cross-disciplinary transfer of model templates suggests that materially different systems studied by different disciplines may be organized in a similar way.
In the subproject "Modalities", the group studied different aspects of biological modalities, modeling of possibilities, and different notions of possibility spaces. The main results so far include the comparison of possibility spaces in physics and biology. The work on modalities led to a new relative-modality account that is consistent with causal-manipulationist accounts of possibilities, but more attuned to actual scientific practices. Another novel result was the application of the philosophical combinatorial theory of possibility to synthetic biology.
The results of the project in all three philosophical areas are useful for working scientists, especially for modelers. During our lab visits, we gave talks on our own philosophical work, and interesting discussions with the scientists ensued. Koskinen's work on multiple realizability was mentioned in an influential article on assembly theory in Nature.
The main channels of dissemination of the results were published articles, conference presentations, and the workshops organized by the project, also in collaboration with other projects.
Part B of the project consisted of three subprojects: “Modeling”, “Multiple Realizability”, and “Modalities”.
The subproject “Modeling”, addressed various more general aspects of scientific modeling and the study of interdisciplinary model transfer between engineering, physics and biological sciences. The main results of this work were a novel holistic account of idealization and the new notion of model template, which addresses the question of how formal methods are disseminated across disciplinary boundaries, e.g. from physics to the biological sciences. The work on interdisciplinary model templates consisted of case studies, but to track them from databases of preprints, the group also developed state-of-the-art methods of unsupervised machine learning.
The “Multiple Realizability” subproject addressed the question of whether different biological functions and capacities could be achieved by different kinds of material realizers. While the multiple realizability thesis has been contested in philosophical discussions, the project showed that multiple realizability functions as a design heuristic for practicing scientists in synthetic biology. Furthermore, the cross-disciplinary transfer of model templates suggests that materially different systems studied by different disciplines may be organized in a similar way.
In the subproject "Modalities", the group studied different aspects of biological modalities, modeling of possibilities, and different notions of possibility spaces. The main results so far include the comparison of possibility spaces in physics and biology. The work on modalities led to a new relative-modality account that is consistent with causal-manipulationist accounts of possibilities, but more attuned to actual scientific practices. Another novel result was the application of the philosophical combinatorial theory of possibility to synthetic biology.
The results of the project in all three philosophical areas are useful for working scientists, especially for modelers. During our lab visits, we gave talks on our own philosophical work, and interesting discussions with the scientists ensued. Koskinen's work on multiple realizability was mentioned in an influential article on assembly theory in Nature.
The main channels of dissemination of the results were published articles, conference presentations, and the workshops organized by the project, also in collaboration with other projects.
The new philosophical account of holistic idealization and the work on the transdisciplinary application of model templates clearly go beyond the state of the art by offering new ways of understanding scientific modeling practice and the impact of the physical sciences on biology. The work on model templates also contributes to a better understanding of the possible multiple realizability of certain organizational forms and biological functions, given the cross-disciplinary applicability of the same formal templates. The notion of relative-modality offers a novel perspective on existing philosophical accounts of modality. Similarly, the computational approach implemented to study the diffusion of model templates and formal methods across disciplines - across physics, chemistry, and biology - goes beyond the state of the art, as the project members had to develop a way to recognize mathematical formalisms from preprints. The task was difficult because it involved reliably transforming hundreds of thousands of equations from different sources, some represented as text, some encoded in different formats, and some simply represented as images, into a uniform format.