Structure and Function in Biology and Metaphysics

The relationship between structure and function – as well as that between structural and causal properties – is a central topic in biology and metaphysics.

Biologists have long recognized that biological structures and biological functions are inextricably linked. Yet philosophical accounts have tended to privilege one dimension over the other, focusing on causal and functional features while neglecting the importance of structural ones.

The structure-function relationship from both ontological and epistemological perspectives

This workshop aims to bring together biologists, philosophers of science, and metaphysicians to examine the structure-function relationship from both ontological and epistemological perspectives. Among the issues to be addressed: What is the ontological status of biological structures and biological functions, and how are they related? Are structures and functions genuinely co-dependent, or is one more ontologically fundamental than the other? How should we understand the emergence of novel features in biological systems, and what does their appearance reveal about the nature of biological organization?