The blog

Taking advantage of the ‘Rare events in Biology’ summer school, the IME research project (Inquiry into the Modes of Existence at modesofexistence.org) is organizing a parallel session, at the same place over two days on the 16 and 17 April that will examine one of the more delicate aspects of the Inquiry.

Coming from a variety of backgrounds such as the sociology of science, the philosophy of nature as well as physics and biology, the participants will make another attempt to untangle the distinct modes (particularly those of reproduction and reference) and the confusion between them that causes some quite fundamental problems for biologists (and to a lesser degree physicists). This attempt to collaboratively define a pluralistic ontology will generate quite a number of empirical results that we will be able to test out by multiplying the number of interactions with those attending the summer school.
The purpose of these days is to imagine what may well be a possible rewriting of the Inquiry by limiting ourselves to the mode of existence reproduction [REP]. Over the two days we will be:
- identifying the scene change that introduces the Inquiry regarding the beings of reproduction,

• demonstrating the new difficulties stemming from the identification of the crossings such as those that span across the Inquiry [REP·REF]; [REP·MET] or [REP·TEC];

• collectively imagining what [rep] would be like following on from the Inquiry.

More concretely though, the meeting will be introduced by Didier Debaise (30 minutes) who will come back to [REP], the identification of new questions linked to the crossings and from the previous meetings.

After this, the mornings will focus on highlighting the new scene generated by the question of [REP] (metaphysics and a place for living things during the first morning, and the crossing [REP·REF] and scientific institutions during the second). In the afternoons we will try to give [REP] new components and attempt to identify new trajectories. At the end of each of these days, we intend to produce on Friday morning, the beginning of "specifications document" for the final rewriting that will take place in July.

Tuesday 15 April

Visit to the National Mediterranean Botanical Conservatory of Porquerolles

20:45: Bruno Latour : “How to liberate biology from political sociology. On a possible crossing in the Inquiry into the Modes of Existence on the question of organisms.’

Wednesday 16 April

8:30-9:30: Pablo Jensen: "Some notes on the subject-object dichotomy”
9:30-10:30: Didier Debaise : Introduction to the seminar

10:30-11:00: Break

11:00-12:00: Nicolas Prignot: minutes from the reading sessions for the Inquiry

12:15-13:15: Repas

16:30- 17:15: Pierre Montebello
17:15-17:45: Pablo Jensen
17:30-18:30: Pierre Sonigo

Thursday 17 April

9:30-10:30: Isabelle Stengers

10:30-11:00 Break

11:00-12:00: Vinciane Despret

12:15-13:15: Lunch

15:00-16:00: Dominique Roodhooft : Presentation of the show Smatch 1, 2 et 3

16:00-16:30: Break

16:30-17:00: David Jamar
17:00-17:30: François Thoreau
17:30-18:00: Aline Wiame

Friday 18 April
8:30-12:00: Conclusion (reflection on the rewriting for July 2014)

Team Members and other participants: Bruno Latour, Christophe Leclercq, Patrice Maniglier, Pierre-Laurent Boulanger, Michael Thomas, Livio Riboli-Sasco