Theoretical Biology Portal

"Many of the cases of strongly-marked varieties or doubtful species well deserve consideration; for several interesting lines of argument, from geographical distribution, analogical variation, hybridism, &c., have been brought to bear in the attempt to determine their rank... [...] But to discuss whether they ought to be called species or varieties, before any definition of these terms has been generally accepted, is vainly to beat the air."

—Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species, 1859

Theoretical Biology at ASU and Beyond

This page serves as the web home for collaboration between several groups centered around the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University. These include our History and Philosophy of Systematics Project, the Program in the History and Philosophy of Science, the Hamilton, Laubichler, Lynch, Maienschein, Pigg, Robert, and Wheeler Labs, the Social Insects Research Group, the Embryo Project, and two campus centers: the Center for Biology and Society and the Center for Social Dynamics and Complexity.

Along with our collaborators at other institutions, we are engaging several fundamental issues that arise from the study of systematics, taxonomy, social organization, and evolutionary theory. While our projects are wide ranging, they share certain common threads: attention to the unit(s) of selection, discussion of appropriate and defensible concepts for species and other taxa, an emphasis on connections across fields of study, and a commitment to view biological and idealogical debates in their historical contexts.

Theoretical Biology Portal

Theoretical Biology at ASU and Beyond

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