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Reposted by Daniel S. Brooks

Samuli Reijula @samulireijula.net · 11d

absolutely fascinating - Pamela McCorduck interviews Herbert Simon in 1974, history of #ai www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFkO...

Author Pamela McCorduck Interviews Herb Simon

YouTube video by Carnegie Mellon University Libraries

www.youtube.com

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Reposted by Daniel S. Brooks

M. Alejandra Petino Zappala @petinozappala.bsky.social · Aug 28

Today @dsbrooks.bsky.social and I hosted our symposium about conceptual ambiguity at #epsa25, with talks by us, Freek Oude Maatman and Markus Eronen (no pictures of me but you can see my intro slide) 😉

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Reposted by Daniel S. Brooks

Alejandro Fábregas-Tejeda @alejandrofabregastejeda.com · Aug 4

Organismal agency is one of today's liveliest debates in the life sciences. Our volume—published a year ago—brings historians, philosophers & scientists into the conversation, offering the kind of nuanced treatment this complex issue deserves 👇 www.routledge.com/The-Riddle-o... #HPS #evosky #philsky

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Reposted by Daniel S. Brooks

Daniel S. Brooks @dsbrooks.bsky.social · Jul 29

My paper on the history of biological organization was accepted at HOPOS! The paper looks at organicist efforts in the first half of the 20th century to elevate organization in biology as a central practical and theoretical notion. #hpbio #philbio #histbio www.researchgate.net/publication/...

(PDF) The Problem of Organization in Biology and Its Reception in Mainstream Philosophy of Science in the Mid-20th Century

PDF | In the early to mid-20th century, English-speaking organicist biologists strongly advocated the idea of organization in biological phenomena as a... | Find, read and cite all the research you ne...

www.researchgate.net

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Daniel S. Brooks @dsbrooks.bsky.social · Jul 29

This paper was nine (!) years in the making, beginning as a side project about methodological disputes in philosophy of science before becoming a committed attempt to engage in a historically rich vein of conceptual theory in biology. It ended up at almost 19K words (!!).

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Daniel S. Brooks @dsbrooks.bsky.social · Jul 29

*Or rather referred to organicist ideas as 'vitalism.'

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Daniel S. Brooks @dsbrooks.bsky.social · Jul 29

Pushback against the organicists in mainstream philosophy of science, especially by Ernest Nagel and his student Morton Beckner, was harsh. They dismissed organization as an unspecified concept that promoted conviction over rational argument. Others like Hempel ignored organicism entirely*

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Daniel S. Brooks @dsbrooks.bsky.social · Jul 29

My paper on the history of biological organization was accepted at HOPOS! The paper looks at organicist efforts in the first half of the 20th century to elevate organization in biology as a central practical and theoretical notion. #hpbio #philbio #histbio www.researchgate.net/publication/...

(PDF) The Problem of Organization in Biology and Its Reception in Mainstream Philosophy of Science in the Mid-20th Century

PDF | In the early to mid-20th century, English-speaking organicist biologists strongly advocated the idea of organization in biological phenomena as a... | Find, read and cite all the research you ne...

www.researchgate.net

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Reposted by Daniel S. Brooks

Gregory Kohn @kohngregory.bsky.social · Jul 10

Devastated to hear this. His books shaped how I thought about development, evolution, history, and science in general. I corresponded with him during grad school when it was less acceptable to be a Marxist in science. His encouragement kept me in the game, and made the field seem less lonely.

Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · Jul 10

Steven Rose was a neuroscientist and critic of genetic determinist views of human behaviour; he was also a founder member of the now defunct British Society for Social Responsbility in Science (which perhaps needs to be resurrected…) www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

Steven Rose obituary

Neuroscientist, author, political activist and advocate for social responsibility in science

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Daniel S. Brooks

Ann-Christin Fischer @acfischer.bsky.social · Jul 11

@epsaphilsci.bsky.social junior scholar online series came to an end yesterday with a great talk about "How to deal with Imposter Syndrome and self doubt" by Azita Chellapo, @dsbrooks.bsky.social, @mjbuedo.bsky.social and @abigailnd.bsky.social. Thanks for the personal stories and helpful advices! 💐

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Daniel S. Brooks @dsbrooks.bsky.social · Jul 7

We saved a baby squirrel that had overheated and was lying on the sidewalk. We gave the little guy some water and they perked right up: they climbed up on me, first on my shoulder, then decided to hang out on my head to collect themselves. After a bit they jumped off my head into a nearby tree.

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Reposted by Daniel S. Brooks

Venice Summer School in Evolutionary Systems Biology @veniceevodevo.bsky.social · Apr 1

DEADLINE EXTENDED to Apr 7 (midnight, CET)

For those of you who struggled with the submission system (we do to!), and those that didn't realize the deadline was on midnight **Central European Time**. 😉

Submit your motivation letter & CV at the link below:

#VeniceEvoDevo

Venice Summer School in Evolutionary Systems Biology @veniceevodevo.bsky.social · Nov 25

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!

Venice Evo Devo Summer School 2025:
Emergence & Evolution of Multi-Level Regulatory Systems

Aug 27-22, 2025
Centro Cultural Don Orione Artigianelli, Venice

Register at:
meetings.embo.org/event/25-mul...

Deadline is March 31, 2025.

#VeniceEvoDevo

Venice Summer School 2025: Emergence & Evolution of Multi-Level Regulatory Systems

Biological systems comprise multiple levels of organization , from molecules, organelles, and cells, to the multi-cellular structures that form whole tissues, organisms, and ultimately societies and …

meetings.embo.org

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Daniel S. Brooks @dsbrooks.bsky.social · Apr 2

Deadline extended to April 7th -- Please consider applying!

Daniel S. Brooks @dsbrooks.bsky.social · Feb 24

Really looking forward to this year's EMBO|FEBS Lecture Course: Emergence & Evolution of Multi-Level Regulatory Systems in Venice this year (meetings.embo.org/event/25-mul...). Applications for participants open until 31 March! #phlsci in #evobio & #devbio

Reposted by Daniel S. Brooks

Venice Summer School in Evolutionary Systems Biology @veniceevodevo.bsky.social · Mar 30

Deadline is TOMORROW night (Mar 31).
Not tonight, like wrongly announced at first.

And that's good news: because you get another 24hrs to apply, if you have not yet done so!

What are you waiting for!? 😉

Registration link below:

Venice Summer School in Evolutionary Systems Biology @veniceevodevo.bsky.social · Nov 25

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!

Venice Evo Devo Summer School 2025:
Emergence & Evolution of Multi-Level Regulatory Systems

Aug 27-22, 2025
Centro Cultural Don Orione Artigianelli, Venice

Register at:
meetings.embo.org/event/25-mul...

Deadline is March 31, 2025.

#VeniceEvoDevo

Venice Summer School 2025: Emergence & Evolution of Multi-Level Regulatory Systems

Biological systems comprise multiple levels of organization , from molecules, organelles, and cells, to the multi-cellular structures that form whole tissues, organisms, and ultimately societies and …

meetings.embo.org

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Reposted by Daniel S. Brooks

Daniel S. Brooks @dsbrooks.bsky.social · Jan 26

If you're interested in theory in biology, please consider applying for this EMBO|FEBS Lecture Course "Emergence & Evolution of Multi-Level Regulatory Systems", organized by @yoginho.spore.social.ap.brid.gy, @nrepina.bsky.social, and James DiFrisco. meetings.embo.org/event/25-mul... #philsci #evobio

Venice Summer School 2025: Emergence & Evolution of Multi-Level Regulatory Systems

Biological systems comprise multiple levels of organization , from molecules, organelles, and cells, to the multi-cellular structures that form whole tissues, organisms, and ultimately societies and …

meetings.embo.org

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Reposted by Daniel S. Brooks

Journal for General Philosophy of Science (JGPS) @jgps.bsky.social · Mar 10

The concept of 'downward causation' has faced many strong critiques. In her recent 📄 @yashaddad.bsky.social argues that, when adopting an interventionist view of causation and a levels of organization framework, we can explanatorily use the notion 👇 link.springer.com/article/10.1... #philsci #hpbio

Promotional p;icture with the abstract of the article “Demystifying Downward Causation” by Yasmin Haddad, published in the Journal for General Philosophy of Science (JGPS).

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Daniel S. Brooks @dsbrooks.bsky.social · Feb 24

Really looking forward to this year's EMBO|FEBS Lecture Course: Emergence & Evolution of Multi-Level Regulatory Systems in Venice this year (meetings.embo.org/event/25-mul...). Applications for participants open until 31 March! #phlsci in #evobio & #devbio

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Daniel S. Brooks @dsbrooks.bsky.social · Feb 12

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Daniel S. Brooks @dsbrooks.bsky.social · Jan 26

More information and updates on the lecture course will be provided by following @veniceevodevo.bsky.social as well as from the instructors (including myself!) and the organizers -- The deadline for applications is 31 March, 2025!

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Daniel S. Brooks @dsbrooks.bsky.social · Jan 26

The course will tackle questions like how levels originate and integrate in development and evolution, what interactions exist between levels, how to measure and manipulate biological systems across multiple scales, and how to model feedback across different levels.

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Daniel S. Brooks @dsbrooks.bsky.social · Jan 26

The venue is in Venice, Italy, and the meeting spans the whole week from 17 – 22 August 2025. Speaking from experience, these meetings are a excellent source for enduring and dynamic dialogues. This year the meeting will be feature levels of organization in #devbio, #evodevo, #evobio, and others!

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Daniel S. Brooks @dsbrooks.bsky.social · Jan 26

If you're interested in theory in biology, please consider applying for this EMBO|FEBS Lecture Course "Emergence & Evolution of Multi-Level Regulatory Systems", organized by @yoginho.spore.social.ap.brid.gy, @nrepina.bsky.social, and James DiFrisco. meetings.embo.org/event/25-mul... #philsci #evobio

Venice Summer School 2025: Emergence & Evolution of Multi-Level Regulatory Systems

Biological systems comprise multiple levels of organization , from molecules, organelles, and cells, to the multi-cellular structures that form whole tissues, organisms, and ultimately societies and …

meetings.embo.org

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Reposted by Daniel S. Brooks

Gregory Kohn @kohngregory.bsky.social · Jan 4

This is an interesting and provocative new paper by DiFrisco and Gawne that critiques the agential stance in evolution in good faith. Both authors are incisive thinkers, and we should take their considerations to heart. That said, I do have some unstructured thoughts I will list below.

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Daniel S. Brooks @dsbrooks.bsky.social · Dec 14

That is, scales do not develop or evolve, but the things that occupy scales do. Attending to scales, however, offers major benefits to characterizing levels, esp. when we ditch the expectation that levels are unidimensional loci in space-time (an expedient assumption used to criticize the notion).

Daniel S. Brooks @dsbrooks.bsky.social · Dec 14

For one thing, while complementary and perhaps in some sense inseparable, the terms refer to completely distinct things. Scale refers to a resolution in space or time while levels refer to classes of structures or processes that occupy these spatiotemporal resolutions.

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