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Slime Mould and Philosophy

Slime Mould and Philosophy

Slime Mould and Philosophy

Matthew Sims, Ruhr-Universität Bochum
January 2025
Available
Paperback
9781009488617

    Physarum polycephalum, also known more colloquially as 'the blob', 'acellular slime mould', or just 'slime mould', is a unicellular multinucleate protist that has continued to attract the interest of biologists over the past century because of its complex life cycle, unique physiology, morphology, and behaviour. More recently, attention has shifted to Physarum as a model organism for investigating putative cognitive capacities such as decision making, learning, and memory in organisms without nervous systems. The aim of this Element is to illustrate how Physarum can be used as a valuable tool for approaching various topics in the philosophy of biology. Physarum and its behaviour not only pose a challenge to some of the received views of biological processes but also, I shall argue, provide an opportunity to clarify and appropriately sharpen the concepts underlying such received views.

    Product details

    January 2025
    Paperback
    9781009488617
    92 pages
    230 × 152 × 6 mm
    0.156kg
    Available

    Table of Contents

    • 1 Introduction
    • 2. Niche construction and complex life cycles
    • 3. On the biotic status of spores
    • 4. Biological individuals: a puzzle concerning plasmodial fragmenting and fusing
    • 5. Externalised spatial memory?
    • 6. Conclusion
    • References.
    Resources for
    Type
    Supplementary Material
    Size: 1.65 MB
    Type: application/pdf
      Author
    • Matthew Sims , Ruhr-Universität Bochum