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Agential autonomy and biological individuality
1Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, Faculty of Arts & Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Evolution & Development
|June 15, 2023
Summary
Biological individuals are defined as autonomous agents with a capacity for goal-directed responses. This new criterion helps determine the number of individuals in biological collectives by assessing their agential autonomy and interdependence.
Area of Science:
- Philosophy of Biology
- Theoretical Biology
- Ecology
Background:
- The definition and individuation of biological entities are fundamental to biological understanding.
- Existing criteria for biological individuality face challenges in diverse biological collectives.
- Distinguishing between individuals in aggregates like colonies or swarms remains complex.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a novel, unified criterion for biological individuality.
- To define biological individuals based on the concept of natural agency and autonomy.
- To provide a method for counting individuals in various biological assemblages.
Main Methods:
- Articulating an ecological-dynamical account of natural agency.
- Developing a framework for agential dependence and autonomy (symmetrical/asymmetrical, strong/weak).
- Proposing that strong agential autonomy defines biological individuals.
Main Results:
- Biological individuals are identified as strongly agentially autonomous systems.
- A method is established to individuate entities within multi-agent systems (organisms, colonies, swarms).
- The criterion successfully accounts for paradigmatic and problematic cases of biological individuality.
Conclusions:
- Strong agential autonomy provides a robust criterion for biological individuality.
- This framework clarifies the individuation of entities in complex biological collectives.
- Distinguishing agential from causal dependence is crucial for evolutionary developmental biology.
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