Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Plant Phenome (Plant Phenome)
Reporting period: 2019-12-01 to 2021-11-30
The researcher conducted a philosophical analysis of some of the main concepts in plant science (i.e. phenome and environment). Plant Phenomics has been growing and advancing rapidly in the last decades. Two important facts drive this growth: (1) the need for growing more food with better nutrition quality for the world population which has been rising enormously along with increasing social inequalities; (2) the need for better understanding of plant-environment interaction so improving the ability to produce crops better adapted to coping with uncertainties in future climate.
This project aims to provide a detailed philosophical analysis of the main concepts and methodologies in phenome research, specifically in plant science. Main methodology is traditional philosophical analysis both in philosophy and scientific literature. Genotype, phenotype and environment are concepts traditionally at the core of theoretical biology and philosophy of biology. Philosophy of biology has paid far more attention to genotypes than phenotypes, and this project aims to make a contribution to redressing this balance. Project papers argue that a processual perspective, which situates plants in their environment, emphasizing the intricate and dynamic interactions between them, is required for better understanding plant-environment interaction and plant responses to climate change.
This project aims to provide a detailed philosophical analysis of the main concepts and methodologies in phenome research, specifically in plant science. Main methodology is traditional philosophical analysis both in philosophy and scientific literature. Genotype, phenotype and environment are concepts traditionally at the core of theoretical biology and philosophy of biology. Philosophy of biology has paid far more attention to genotypes than phenotypes, and this project aims to make a contribution to redressing this balance. Project papers argue that a processual perspective, which situates plants in their environment, emphasizing the intricate and dynamic interactions between them, is required for better understanding plant-environment interaction and plant responses to climate change.
The project proposed four milestones : (1) Conference abstracts submitted for presentations in conferences. (2) Manuscript of the first paper submitted to the journal. (3) Workshop organised. (4) Manuscript of the second paper submitted to the journal.
In all the project outcomes (papers, conference presentations, invited talks, seminars, and the project workshop), the EU funding is acknowledged as: “This paper (or this Workshop) is a part of the Plant Phenome Project that has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No: 833353.” In addition, the EU funding will be acknowledged in the upcoming two papers.
The main project results (Milestones) include: (Please note: These and their impact are described in more detail as deliverables in the other sections of the technical report.)
Milestone 1: Conference presentations (all online) were done. These include:
“Plant Physiology and Plant Cognition” was presented at the 10th European Congress of Analytic Philosophy (ECAP10) Utrecht University, The Netherlands in August 2020.
“Plant Individuality, Source-Sink Balance, Plant Parts” was presented at the Philosophy of Science Association (PSA) 2020/2021 Virtual Poster Forum in January 2020.
“More Plant Biology in Philosophy Education” was presented at the International Society of History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology (ISHPSSB) Symposium Off-Year Workshop in Dublin City University, Ireland in December 2020.
“Plant Phenomes and Climate Change” was presented at the International Society of History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology (ISHPSSB) Biennial meeting in Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, USA in July 2021.
“Biyoloji Felsefesinde Organizma Kavramı” (“The Concept of Organism in Philosophy of Biology”) was presented at the Fourth Conference of Society of Women in Philosophy in Turkey (SWIP-Turkey) Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey in November 2021.
Milestone 3: The project’s workshop “Philosophy of Plant Biology” was organised online at the Egenis the Centre for the Study of Life Sciences, University of Exeter, 5-7 May 2021. (https://blogs.exeter.ac.uk/plantphenome/phil-plant-bio-workshop/ Book of Abstracts of the Workshop is prepared and shared with the attendees via e-mails and on the ResearchGate https://www.researchgate.net/project/Plant-Phenome/update/6267c48433d0f000f76f3a83 ).
Milestones 2 and 4: Although the project proposed two papers, four papers have been written.
Please note that only one of these papers is entered on the Portal at the current time. Of the remaining three, one is still under-review; one is not submitted to a journal as yet; and one is chapter in a book whose link is not yet available (even so, the paper is openly accessible through PhilPapers and other academic networks with these links being widely shared through social media with the project’s hashtag: #PlantPhenomeProject ).
The EU funding is acknowledged in the published paper and the book chapter, and it will be acknowledged in two upcoming papers as well. Both of the published papers are open access and the upcoming two papers will be open access as well.
The paper “Plant Individuality: A Physiological Approach” that is co-authored with the supervisor was submitted to and currently under-review in the journal Studies in History and Philosophy of Science. This paper is not on the Portal now, because it has not been published yet.
The paper “Plants as Organisms: Rethinking Plant Phenotypic Traits” has not been completed yet; a small amount of work is needed to be done and then this paper will be submitted as well. This paper is not on the Portal now, because it has not been published yet.
The paper “More Plant Biology in Philosophy Education” was presented at the International Society of History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology (ISHPSSB) Symposium Off-Year Workshop on the History, Philosophy & Sociology of School Biology at the Dublin City University, Ireland and later published in the book The Nature of Science in Biology: A Resource for Educators, ed. Thomas J.J. McCloughlin. Graphikon Teo, Dublin. This paper is not on the Portal, because the edited book’s link is not available yet. The paper is openly shared through many channels (PhilPapers: https://philpapers.org/rec/YILMPB , Academia , ResearchGate ).
The paper: “Biyoloji Felsefesinde Organizma Kavramı” (in Turkish, translation: “The Concept of Organism in Philosophy of Biology”) was presented at the Fourth Conference of Society of Women in Philosophy in Turkey (SWIP-Turkey) and published in Kilikya Journal of Philosophy (Kilikya Felsefe Dergisi 1, no.1: 78-86). This paper is on the Portal.
In all the project outcomes (papers, conference presentations, invited talks, seminars, and the project workshop), the EU funding is acknowledged as: “This paper (or this Workshop) is a part of the Plant Phenome Project that has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No: 833353.” In addition, the EU funding will be acknowledged in the upcoming two papers.
The main project results (Milestones) include: (Please note: These and their impact are described in more detail as deliverables in the other sections of the technical report.)
Milestone 1: Conference presentations (all online) were done. These include:
“Plant Physiology and Plant Cognition” was presented at the 10th European Congress of Analytic Philosophy (ECAP10) Utrecht University, The Netherlands in August 2020.
“Plant Individuality, Source-Sink Balance, Plant Parts” was presented at the Philosophy of Science Association (PSA) 2020/2021 Virtual Poster Forum in January 2020.
“More Plant Biology in Philosophy Education” was presented at the International Society of History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology (ISHPSSB) Symposium Off-Year Workshop in Dublin City University, Ireland in December 2020.
“Plant Phenomes and Climate Change” was presented at the International Society of History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology (ISHPSSB) Biennial meeting in Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, USA in July 2021.
“Biyoloji Felsefesinde Organizma Kavramı” (“The Concept of Organism in Philosophy of Biology”) was presented at the Fourth Conference of Society of Women in Philosophy in Turkey (SWIP-Turkey) Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey in November 2021.
Milestone 3: The project’s workshop “Philosophy of Plant Biology” was organised online at the Egenis the Centre for the Study of Life Sciences, University of Exeter, 5-7 May 2021. (https://blogs.exeter.ac.uk/plantphenome/phil-plant-bio-workshop/ Book of Abstracts of the Workshop is prepared and shared with the attendees via e-mails and on the ResearchGate https://www.researchgate.net/project/Plant-Phenome/update/6267c48433d0f000f76f3a83 ).
Milestones 2 and 4: Although the project proposed two papers, four papers have been written.
Please note that only one of these papers is entered on the Portal at the current time. Of the remaining three, one is still under-review; one is not submitted to a journal as yet; and one is chapter in a book whose link is not yet available (even so, the paper is openly accessible through PhilPapers and other academic networks with these links being widely shared through social media with the project’s hashtag: #PlantPhenomeProject ).
The EU funding is acknowledged in the published paper and the book chapter, and it will be acknowledged in two upcoming papers as well. Both of the published papers are open access and the upcoming two papers will be open access as well.
The paper “Plant Individuality: A Physiological Approach” that is co-authored with the supervisor was submitted to and currently under-review in the journal Studies in History and Philosophy of Science. This paper is not on the Portal now, because it has not been published yet.
The paper “Plants as Organisms: Rethinking Plant Phenotypic Traits” has not been completed yet; a small amount of work is needed to be done and then this paper will be submitted as well. This paper is not on the Portal now, because it has not been published yet.
The paper “More Plant Biology in Philosophy Education” was presented at the International Society of History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology (ISHPSSB) Symposium Off-Year Workshop on the History, Philosophy & Sociology of School Biology at the Dublin City University, Ireland and later published in the book The Nature of Science in Biology: A Resource for Educators, ed. Thomas J.J. McCloughlin. Graphikon Teo, Dublin. This paper is not on the Portal, because the edited book’s link is not available yet. The paper is openly shared through many channels (PhilPapers: https://philpapers.org/rec/YILMPB , Academia , ResearchGate ).
The paper: “Biyoloji Felsefesinde Organizma Kavramı” (in Turkish, translation: “The Concept of Organism in Philosophy of Biology”) was presented at the Fourth Conference of Society of Women in Philosophy in Turkey (SWIP-Turkey) and published in Kilikya Journal of Philosophy (Kilikya Felsefe Dergisi 1, no.1: 78-86). This paper is on the Portal.
The new knowledge generated by the project was disseminated in several ways and mainly through scientific communication. The publication links of the papers and the information about the project were regularly shared on popular social networks (Twitter, ResearchGate, Academia, PhilPapers, and LinkedIn) using hashtags such as #PhilPlantBio2021 and #PlantPhenomeProject. In addition to Conference presentations, the researcher gave multiple talks at the University and other events that were open to both scholars and all members of the public who may be interested in the subject. The Philosophy of Plant Biology Workshop was organised successfully. It was a successful event that brought together colleagues from around the world to discuss various important topics in philosophy of plant biology. There were 24 speakers from 12 different countries. There were 135 people registered for attending, and each session the number of attendees was around 50-70.
Overall, the Plant Phenome project contributed significantly to the increasing inclusion of plants in philosophy of biology. Also, its emphasis on plant-environment interaction contributed to important trends that helps our understanding of plant life in a changing climate in philosophy of biology.
Overall, the Plant Phenome project contributed significantly to the increasing inclusion of plants in philosophy of biology. Also, its emphasis on plant-environment interaction contributed to important trends that helps our understanding of plant life in a changing climate in philosophy of biology.