Philosophy Meets the Life Sciences
24–25 August 2026
School of Humanities, Macquarie University, Sydney
About
The main objective of this 2-day workshop will be to showcase research in philosophy that deeply engages with the life sciences and, conversely, to feature work in the life sciences that engages substantially with philosophy. The theme of the workshop is intentionally broad, as an effort to support both continued dialogue between experts in philosophy and the life sciences while also providing a platform for potential future collaborations.
Speakers
Andrew Barron
Macquarie University
Sandy Boucher
University of New England
Rachael Brown
Australian National University
Ken Cheng
Macquarie University
Paul Griffiths
Univerisity of Sydney & Macquarie University
David M. Kaplan
Macquarie University
Christopher Hunter Lean
Macquarie University
John Matthewson
Massey University
Patrick McGivern
University of Wollongong
Richard Menary
Macquarie University
David Raubenheimer
University of Sydney
Yafeng Shan
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Cristina Villegas
Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research
Andreas Wagner
University of Zürich
Rob Wilson
University of Western Australia
Mingjun Zhang
Fudan University
Organisers
Pierrick Bourrat
Macquarie University
Matthew Sims
Macquarie University
Kangqiao Wang
Macquarie University
Program
📄 Download Program (PDF)
(Updated on 24 Aug)
Day 1 (24 August)
Venue: Room 121, 1 Management Drive
| Time | Speaker | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 8:30-8:50 | Coffee / Registration | |
| 8:50-9:00 | Welcome | |
| Morning | Chair: Pierrick Bourrat (Macquarie University) | |
| 9:00-9:45 | Rob Wilson (University of Western Australia) | The Progenerative View of Kinship as a Philosophical Intervention in the Fragile Sciences |
| 9:45-10:30 | Mingjun Zhang (Fudan University) | Demystifying Distinctively Mathematical Explanations |
| 10:30-11:00 | Coffee Break 1 | |
| 11:00-11:45 | David Kaplan (Macquarie University) | It's about time: A mechanistic perspective on timescales and temporal organisation in the brain |
| 11:45-12:30 | Andreas Wagner (University of Zürich) | On the origin of new genes |
| 12:30-2:00 | Lunch | |
| Afternoon | Chair: Kangqiao Wang (Macquarie University) | |
| 2:00-2:45 | Chris Lean (Macquarie University) | Genomic Globalisation |
| 2:45-3:30 | Cristina Villegas (Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research) | Modeling Evolutionary Variation with Causal Probability |
| 3:30-4:00 | Coffee Break 2 | |
| 4:00-4:45 | Richard Menary (Macquarie University) | Good Enough? Optimising and Satisficing Strategies in Evolution and Cognition |
| 4:45 pm | End of Day 1 | |
| 6:00 pm | Dinner at The Ranch | |
Day 2 (25 August)
Venue: Room 101, 1 Management Drive
| Time | Speaker | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 8:30-9:00 | Coffee / Arrival | |
| Morning | Chair: Yiwen Zhan (Peking University) | |
| 9:00-9:45 | David Raubenheimer (University of Sydney) | Agencies in nutritional systems |
| 9:45-10:30 | Rachael Brown (Australian National University) | Is evolvability a disposition? Or why I was wrong in 2014 |
| 10:30-11:00 | Coffee Break 1 | |
| 11:00-11:45 | Paul Griffiths (University of Sydney and Macquarie University) | Animal Personalities |
| 11:45-12:30 | Andrew Barron (Macquarie University) | The first neural spatial representation |
| 12:30-2:00 | Lunch | |
| Afternoon | Chair: Matthew Sim (Macquarie University) | |
| 2:00-2:45 | John Matthewson (Massey University) | Model organisms and population types |
| 2:45-3:30 | Sandy Boucher (University of New England) | Endogenising organisation: organicism and the major transitions in evolution |
| 3:30-4:00 | Coffee Break 2 | |
| 4:00-4:45 | Patrick McGivern (University of Wollongong) | Transitions in biological individuality and mesoscale structure |
| 4:45-5:30 | Ken Cheng (Macquarie University) | Basic units of action as basis for navigation |
| 5:30 pm | End of Workshop | |
Location
Lakeside Hotel & Conference Centre
Macquarie University
Sydney, Australia
