Suárez, Javier and Triviño, Vanessa (2019) A metaphysical approach to holobiont individuality: Holobionts as emergent individuals. [Preprint]

Text Suarez and Trivino - Holobionts DC.docx Download (39kB)

Abstract

Holobionts are symbiotic assemblages composed by a host plus its microbiome. The status of holobionts as individuals has recently been a subject of continuous controversy, which has given rise to two main positions: on the one hand, holobiont advocates argue that holobionts are biological individuals; on the other, holobiont detractors argue that they are just mere chimeras or ecological communities, but not individuals. Both parties in the dispute develop their arguments from the framework of the philosophy of biology, in terms of what it takes for a “conglomerate” to be considered an interesting individual from a biological point of view. However, the debates about holobiont individuality have important ontological implications that have remained vaguely explored from a metaphysical framework. The purpose of this paper is to cover that gap by presenting a metaphysical approach to holobionts individuality. Drawing upon a conception of natural selection that puts the focus on the transgenerational recurrence of the traits and that supports the thesis that holobionts are units of selection, we argue that holobionts bear emergent traits and exert downward powers over the entities that compose them. In this vein, we argue, a reasonable argument can be made for conceiving holobionts as emergent biological individuals.

---

Export/Citation:

EndNote | BibTeX | Dublin Core | ASCII/Text Citation (Chicago) | HTML Citation | OpenURL

Social Networking:

Share |

---

Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Suárez, Javier javier.suarez@ub.edu 0000-0001-5851-2277 Triviño, Vanessa
Keywords:	emergence; holobiont; symbiosis; microbiome; biological individuality; trait-recurrence
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Biology Specific Sciences > Biology > Ecology/Conservation Specific Sciences > Biology > Evolutionary Theory General Issues > Reductionism/Holism
Depositing User:	Dr Javier Suárez
Date Deposited:	22 Apr 2019 13:37
Last Modified:	22 Apr 2019 13:37
Item ID:	15923
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Biology Specific Sciences > Biology > Ecology/Conservation Specific Sciences > Biology > Evolutionary Theory General Issues > Reductionism/Holism
Date:	2019
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/15923

Available Versions of this Item

• A metaphysical approach to holobiont individuality: Holobionts as emergent individuals. (deposited 22 Apr 2019 13:37) [Currently Displayed]
  • A metaphysical approach to holobiont individuality: Holobionts as emergent individuals. (deposited 25 May 2019 16:35)

Monthly Views for the past 3 years

Monthly Downloads for the past 3 years

Plum Analytics

Actions (login required)

View Item