The Roles of Organismal Agency in Biological Practice

Convenors: Marie I. Kaiser, Guido I. Prieto, Henrik Hörmann (Bielefeld) The concept of organismal agency challenges the traditional view that only cognitively complex beings, such as humans, exhibit agency, proposing instead that all living systems – from cells to colonies – actively participate in their own development, maintenance, and evolution. This perspective has gained traction in recent theoretical biology and philosophy of biology. Recent debates center on characterizing biological agency, and discuss its relationship to notions like goal-directedness or autonomy, and its scientific utility. While some criticize the concept of agency as vague or impractical, others argue for its heuristic and explanatory value. However, much of the literature remains theoretical, with limited attention to whether and how agency can be useful to actual biological research. This interdisciplinary workshop will address this gap, bringing together biologists and philosophers to explore how the concept of biological agency is or could be used in biological research, for instance, on developmental plasticity, niche construction, and biological individuality. The goal is to assess the empirical relevance of the concept of agency and its potential to shape future biological research. Contact at ZiF Nadine Moschkelewski zif-eventsupport@uni-bielefeld.de