The Dialectics of Life: Towards a Unification of Biology and Philosophy

Rasmus Sandnes Haukedal (NTNU)

This talk will provide central insights from my work on the philosophical implications of the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis (Chiu 2022). First, I will outline the history of modern evolutionary thinking, and how the current shift incorporates views that were previously marginalised. Building on this, I describe the dialectical background of organicism and its modern-day iteration: the organisational approach, which emphasises the organisational closure and energetic openness of organisms, allowing them to self-determine (Montévil and Longo 2015). I claim that this perspective aligns with – and can contribute to – the current extension. Further, I argue that the emphasis on unpredictability within the organisational view resonates with Hegel’s idea that nature is inherently contingent (Hegel 2010). This so-called impotence of nature imposes restrictions on philosophy and science, thereby challenging the notion that Hegel believed one could logically deduce the instances of nature. Based on this, I outline the dialectical naturalism proposed in these perspectives and how it opens the door to a new relationship between natural science and the humanities. In summary, I argue that current shifts in thinking indicate a new kind of science – built around the ecological and historical view of nature – towards unification without subsumption or eradication of differences.