We are launching a new online seminar series!
The aim is to bring together biologists and philosophers to explore the concept of animal agency.
The sessions will take place on the second Thursday of each month, starting in January 2025, with a preparatory session scheduled for 5 December 2024.
Please find below the details and rationale of the seminar. And feel free to contact us for any additional information!
Agency: Between Biology and Philosophy
The concept of agency, which first originated in the human sciences, particularly sociology (Shapiro 2005; Emirbayer and Mische 1998), is increasingly used to understand a variety of biological phenomena. These range from organisational processes (Barandiaran, Di Paolo, and Rohde 2009; Virenque and Mossio 2024), animal cognition and behaviour (Brizio and Tirassa 2016; Sueur, Zanaz, and Pelé 2023; Warkentin 2009), to the construction of ecological niches (Aaby and Desmond 2021), and more broadly, the impact of biological individuals on selective pressures (Walsh 2015).
This concept seeks to integrate the active role that organisms play in various biological and social processes, a role that remains under scrutiny. Indeed, the still-dominant reductionist approach to evolution has promoted a view of organisms as mere compromises between genetics and environmental pressures (Dawkins 1989). Moreover, the fear of anthropomorphism, often wielded like a scarecrow representing bad science (Wynne 2006), has discredited any agency-based approach to non-human beings.
Nevertheless, in both human and biological sciences, it is increasingly recognised that accounting for the agency of organisms can help fill theoretical gaps — explaining certain phenomena under-determined by traditional theories (Walsh 2015; Moreno and Mossio 2015), enhance the interpretation of empirical data and the design of experiments (Sueur, Zanaz, and Pelé 2023; Warkentin 2009; Dretske 1997), and contribute to improving animals welfare (Špinka 2019; Blattner, Donaldson, and Wilcox 2020). That said, the concept of agency, being studied and defined by various disciplines, has a range of interpretations, both in terms of its intension (what the concept means) and its extension (which entities it applies to).
This seminar will question the concept of agency and try to clarify it. The concept will also serve as a focal point from which various related themes can emerge, touching on both the study of organisms, and in particular non-human animals (their subjectivity, communication, inventiveness, culture, tradition, etc.), and epistemological issues such as the role of anthropomorphism in science, the structure of evolutionary theory, and the relationship between biology and philosophy.
The seminar, held exclusively online, aims to create a space for transdisciplinary discussion and long-term collaboration among international researchers from different fields. Rather than focusing on completed research, participants are encouraged to share work in progress, exchange ideas, and explore questions together.
The one-hour sessions will be held monthly, starting in January, on the second Thursday of each month, from 5pm to 6pm (UK time).
A preliminary session where participants will introduce themselves and establish the seminar schedule, will take place on 5 December from 5pm to 6pm via Zoom:
Add to calendar:
Join Zoom Meeting:
Meeting ID: 948 4533 2305
If you are interested in participating, please contact Mathilde Tahar at mathilde.tahar@ucl.ac.uk (If you are unable to attend the introductory session, you are still welcome to join the seminar at a later date.)
Please feel free to circulate this announcement to anyone who might be interested.
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