This entry aims to clarify how systems and synthetic biology contribute to and extend
discussions within philosophy of science. Unlike fields such as developmental biology or …

Abstract Christopher Boorse's Biostatistical Theory of Health has been the main contender
among naturalistic accounts of health for the last 40 years. Yet, a recent criticism of this …

Philosophers have proposed many accounts of biological function. A coarse-grained
distinction can be made between backward-looking views, which emphasise historical …

In this chapter, I consider a range of issues surrounding concepts of health and disease. The
literature on these concepts is extensive but hard to survey. Philosophers of science …

Synthetic biology promises to eliminate the distinction between biology and engineering by
delivering a philosophically interesting new kind of entity: a biological organism that is …

In this paper I assess the explanatory powers of theories of function in the context of
products that may result from synthetic biology. The aim is not to develop a new theory of …

Todo proceso cognitivo, incluida la conceptualización de algunos hechos percibidos, tales
como los estados humanos enfermos, conlleva un aspecto emocional y valorativo …

In this paper I defend a pluralistic approach in understanding function, both in biological and
other contexts. Talks about function are ubiquitous and crucial in biology, and it might be the …

This chapter discusses the concept of animal enhancement with reference to bioethical
debates over human enhancement. The human enhancement; animal enhancement …

For a long time on, philosophers have been trying to analyze what disease is. The
significance of the topic of disease lies mostly in its ubiquity and in the historical …