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Are physiological individuals evolutionary individuals? The case of the holobiont
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 March 2025
Abstract
In this paper I present the immunological account of physiological individuality courtesy of Thomas Pradeu (2012) and the evolutionary account of biological individuality from Ellen Clarke (2012, 2013). I argue that in combination, the logic of these two accounts implies that all physiological individuals are capable of undergoing evolution by natural selection. The main objection to this view is the case of holobionts (Godfrey-Smith 2013, Pradeu 2016). Here, I will argue that this objection is unjustified and that holobionts meet basic criteria for evolutionary individuality. As such, this supports the view that physiological individuals are also evolutionary individuals.
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- © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Philosophy of Science Association