The research unit studies the history and philosophy of science, with a focus on the life sciences, especially biology, and philosophical anthropology. Its members work in the Emmy Noether research group "ROTO" (The Return of the Organism in the Biosciences: Theoretical, Historical, and Social Dimensions) funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). It investigates the conceptual, methodological and anthropological challenges going along with the current comeback of the concept of organism in the bio- and biomedical sciences. The group combines philosophical, historical and sociological approaches to study biological individuality, agency, organism-environment boundaries, and the concept of environment. Other research topics concern the history of botany and theoretical biology, the concept of race and values in science as well as causality and scientific explanation.  

ROTO Homepage: Here 

ROTO Bluesky: Here

Lecture Series: Here

If you are interested in doing a M.A. in our History, Philosophy & Culture of Science (HPS+) Program at RUB, please write us. 

News

New publications...

• Jan Baedke, Azita Chellappoo & Maurizio Meloni (eds.): Postgenomic Determinism: Environmental Narratives After the Century of the Gene. Special Issue in History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences. (2023-) [Link]
• Azita Chellappoo & Jan Baedke: Where the social meets the biological: New ontologies of biosocial race. In: Synthese (2023) [download pdf]
• The organism in evolutionary explanation: From early 20th century to the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis. In: T.E. Dickins & B.J.A. Dickins (eds.): Evolutionary Biology: Contemporary and Historical Reflections Upon Core Theory. Springer: Dordrecht. (Co-authors: Alejandro Fábregas-Tejeda; 2023) [download pdf]
• Jan Baedke & Christina Brandt (eds.): New Styles of Thought and Practices: Biology in the Interwar Period. Special Issue in Journal of the History of Biology. J. Baedke & C. Brandt (eds.). (2022) [Link]
• Jan Baedke, Alejandro Fábregas-Tejeda, Guido I. Prieto: Unknotting reciprocal causation between organism and environment. In: Biology & Philosophy (2021) [download pdf]
• Abigail Nieves Delgado, Jan Baedke: Does the human microbiome tell us something about race? In: Nature: Humanities & Social Sciences Communications (2021) [download pdf]