This project, led by Alan Rodrigues, co-directed by Gopi Vijaya, supports the founding of a new “Society for Conceptual Biology” (SCB), aiming to provide practicing biologists with exposure to skills and activities most commonly found in philosophy or history departments. SCB will focus on a set of guiding questions at the foundations of the life sciences, especially the search for principles in living systems that differentiate them from chemical or physical systems.

This grassroots effort from the Foundation for Cultural Renewal seeks to develop conceptual capacity among practicing scientists to address two reinforcing problems that have stalled progress in the life sciences. Scientifically, modern biology is saturated with data that current “off-the-shelf” frameworks from physics and engineering cannot fully explain.

The exclusion of conceptual activity from the life sciences over the last half century was made possible in part by the tremendous successes of a dominant paradigm in which life was reduced to the activity of molecular machines. However, this paradigm is delivering diminishing results, leading to a desire to move away from machine metaphors and balance the dominance of reductionist approaches with holistic and synthetic approaches.

As an independent organization, the SCB will provide a home for scientists and trainees eager for paradigm-shifting work, building on a flagship club in New York City. The project also aims to develop conceptual biology clubs across major universities and institutes in the US and internationally that can hold local discussions based on syllabi, video lectures, readings, and discussion materials provided by the project. Dialogue will be encouraged between practicing scientists and those coming from philosophy and history so that conceptual thinking is connected to pressing areas in the life sciences. Philosophers and conceptual theoretical biologists focused on topics such as agency and autonomy will also be invited to give presentations to groups of practicing scientists.