Laurent Loison

Chargé de recherche au CNRS, Historien et philosophe des sciences de la vie, IHPST (UMR 8590, Paris-1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, CNRS)

Laurent Loison, Docteur en histoire des sciences

History & philosophy of biology

 

I work on the history and philosophy of some conceptual aspects of the main biological theories: evolutionary theory, cell theory and molecular biology. My main interest is in "Lamarckism" (broadly speaking) and the concept of inheritance of acquired characters. My PhD dissertation aimed at disentangling the complex history of (neo)Lamarckism in the French context. Today, I am mainly devoted to the conceptual and historical clarification of two conflated evolutionary mechanisms: the Baldwin effect and Genetic assimilation, in order to enrich the scientific and philosophical debate regarding the valdidity and relevance of the so-called Extended Evolutionary Synthesis.

I am also interested in the issue of the link between history and philosophy of science (HPS) and more generally in the question of the purpose and methods of the history of science. The major part of my contribution deals with the issue of "presentism" and how it would be possible to renew the purpose and scope of what is usually termed 'historical epistemology'.

 

Contact : laurentloison@yahoo.fr

Dernière mise à jour : November 2021