Dr Ellen Clarke

BA, MA, PhD
Quondam Fellow since 2017

I am a philosopher of biology. My work explores the metaphysics and epistemology of biological science, especially the ontology of the living world. In particular, I have written about levels of selection and the problem of defining biological individuals. I am especially interested in social evolution and in evolved relations between parts and wholes, from bacteria to plants to people. My current activities include an investigation of microbial ontology; a project that brings together philosophers and zoologists to think about the relation between inheritance systems and cooperation; and some musings on political philosophy from the perspective of the evolution of cooperation literature.