Mur Mitoyen
UQAM - Pavillon Thérèse-Casgrain (W)
COLLOQUE
« The Biology of Behaviour. Explanatory Pluralism Across the Life Sciences »
ORGANISATION
Christophe Malaterre, Canada Research Chair in the Philosophy of Life Sciences, UQAM
Eric Muszynski, PhD candidate, Philosophy, UQAM
RÉSUMÉ
Biologists explain the behaviour of organisms in a wide variety of ways. Some look at the mechanisms that underlie specific behaviours, such as the genetic, molecular, developmental or neurobiological factors, whereas others are interested in the evolutionary histories of the traits or their adaptive functions. To what extent do these explanations differ in their aims, methods and conceptual frameworks? And what does a purported plurality of explanatory types imply regarding the competition, collaboration or integration of the multiple explanations?
These explanations furthermore are applied to all types of entities, and at all levels, from single-celled organisms to plants, invertebrates, mammals, humans, groups, populations, and even ecosystems. Are all these uses coherent? Do the explanations apply in the same ways at all levels of organisation or is the widespread use of the term ‘behaviour’ a red herring? It is a notoriously difficult term to define, but this may or may not matter, depending on the role the word is expected to fulfill.
Underlying such inquiries are fundamental epistemological questions, such as the identification of better or worse explanations of behaviour in the biological sciences, and whether various sub-disciplines use the same or different criteria for evaluating those explanations.
This workshop will reunite philosophers and scientists who work on these questions in order to foster cross-discipline conversations and research, with an aim to promote collaborations. The workshop attendees will be encouraged to produce an article to be submitted to a special edition of the scientific journal Synthese (see the open call for papers; note that the call is not limited to presenters at the workshop).
