Abstract
Organismal unity has always been a third thing, between physics and mind. In the twentieth century, biologists proposed regulation and replication, reflecting nutrition and reproduction, as defining features of life. Recent discoveries show that the two categories yield different answers when we try to identify individuals. The mechanical philosophy and Darwinian population thinking lead to pragmatic, non-exclusive and context dependent definitions of organisms: a biological nominalism. Such arbitrary formal causes create a departure from Aristotle. The intertwined character of organisms makes linguistic and conceptual clarity important. Godfrey-Smith’s Darwinian populations and Millikan’s historical kinds provide insights into how to find linguistic and conceptual clarity amidst the overlapping processes.
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Notes
- 1.
Darwin proposed the transmission of gemmules , small particles given off by organs and concentrated in the gametes.
- 2.
Joyce (1994) provides the words, saying only that they arose in discussion during a NASA Exobiology Program meeting. Luisi (1998) and Benner (2010) started calling it the “NASA Definition.” NASA has never officially adopted it, though the Astrobiology Programs use it as an operational definition for planning purposes. It closely follows Carl Sagan ’s genetic definition in “Life” for Encyclopedia Britannica.
- 3.
The type/token distinction is borrowed from Millikan (1984).
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Mix, L.J. (2018). Vegetable Individuality: The Organismal Self. In: Life Concepts from Aristotle to Darwin. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96047-0_18
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