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Book Synopsis
The biological and philosophical implications of the emergence of new collective individuals from associations of living beings.

Our intuitive assumption that only organisms are the real individuals in the natural world is at odds with developments in cell biology, ecology, genetics, evolutionary biology, and other fields. Although organisms have served for centuries as nature's paradigmatic individuals, science suggests that organisms are only one of the many ways in which the natural world could be organized. When living beings work together—as in ant colonies, beehives, and bacteria-metazoan symbiosis—new collective individuals can emerge. In this book, leading scholars consider the biological and philosophical implications of the emergence of these new collective individuals from associations of living beings. The topics they consider range from metaphysical issues to biological research on natural selection, sociobiology, and symbiosis.

The contributors

From Groups to Individuals Evolution and Emerging

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    A Hardback by Frédéric Bouchard, Philippe Huneman, Peter Godfrey-Smith

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      Publisher: MIT Press Ltd
      Publication Date: Publication Date: 22/03/2013
      ISBN13: 9780262018722, 978-0262018722
      ISBN10: 0262018721

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      The biological and philosophical implications of the emergence of new collective individuals from associations of living beings.

      Our intuitive assumption that only organisms are the real individuals in the natural world is at odds with developments in cell biology, ecology, genetics, evolutionary biology, and other fields. Although organisms have served for centuries as nature's paradigmatic individuals, science suggests that organisms are only one of the many ways in which the natural world could be organized. When living beings work together—as in ant colonies, beehives, and bacteria-metazoan symbiosis—new collective individuals can emerge. In this book, leading scholars consider the biological and philosophical implications of the emergence of these new collective individuals from associations of living beings. The topics they consider range from metaphysical issues to biological research on natural selection, sociobiology, and symbiosis.

      The contributors

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