This contribution attempts to synthesize and expand ideas previously presented at these meetings by placing them into a wider framework at the intersection of biosemiotics and current philosophy of biology. In previous investigations I aimed mainly at exploring the connections between two special kinds of relational structures: the networks of self-referential circular loops that appear pervasi...

We present our approach to building intelligent robots, which we call minimalist biomimetic robotics. In this philosophy, biology is used as a source of inspiration and Ockham’s razor is applied to obtain minimal solutions. The goal is to create embodied and situated agents that are efficient at performing their tasks, but have enough redundancy in sensors, actuators and control architecture to...

We argue that philosophical and historical research can constitute a "Biohumanities" that deepens our understanding of biology itself engages in constructive "science criticism," helps formulate new "visions of biology," and facilitates "critical science communication." We illustrate these ideas with two recent "experimental philosophy" studies of the concept of the gene and of the concept of i...

Traditional approaches in philosophy of biology focus attention on biological concepts, explanations, and theories, on evidential support and inter-theoretical relations. Newer approaches shift attention from concepts to conceptual practices, from theories to practices of theorizing, and from theoretical reduction to reductive retooling. In this article, I describe the shift from theory-focused...

*Department of Biology, @Department of World Languages and Cultures, and **Department of Philosophy, Juniata College, Huntingdon, PA 16652 Department of Biology, Lycoming College, Williamsport, PA 17701; ‡Department of Biology, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA 15282; §Department of Biology, Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, PA 17870; ‖Department of Biological Sciences, California State Un...

in this paper i explore surprising parallels in the arguments between dualists and materialists in the philosophy of mind in india and the west. in particular, i compare the nyaya school of india with cartesian dualism and its western defenders and the carvaka school of india with contemporary western materialists.

The current revolution in molecular parasitology often makes us forget about the subtleties of host-parasite ecology, i.e., how the whole parasite interacts with its vertebrate host. Dr. Gutierrez's book reminds us of what we are missing. Its pages represent a scholar's lifetime of devotion to the disease processes caused by the helminths, protozoa, and arthropods that infect man. Although writ...