Marina Barreto

Commentators on Franz Neumann's work typically identify three phases in his production: the writings of the Republic, of National Socialism, and of the post-war period. The writings of the first phase are often considered smaller or more militant, while the later ones are seen as more theoretical and robust. Moreover, they are perceived as separated by significant ruptures, particularly due to the rise of National Socialism. In this article, I challenge these propositions: I reconstruct three time diagnoses made by the author between 1929 and 1944 andhighlight one important line of continuity among them. The relationship established by fundamental rights and democracy illustrates a theoretical and thematic continuity in Neumann’s work, even though it is fragmentary. I develop this relationship and point out two concrete examples of these continuities in Neumann’s thought before and after the fall of the Republic.

Programmed cell death (PCD) in cell groups and microbial communities affects population structures, nutrient recycling, and sociobiological interactions. A less explored area is the role played by PCD in the emergence of higher-level individuals. Here, we examine how cell death impacted evolutionary transitions in individuality (ETIs). The focus is on three specific ETIs - the emergence of the eukaryote cell, multicellularity, and social insects - and we review the theoretical and empirical evidence for the role of PCD in these three transitions. We find that PCD likely contributed to many of the processes involved in eukaryogenesis and the transition to multicellularity. PCD is important for the formation of cooperative groups and is a mechanism by which mutual dependencies between individuals evolve. PCD is also a conflict mediator and involved in division of labor in social groups and in the origin of new cell types. In multicellularity, PCD facilitates the transfer of fitness to the higher-level individual. In eusocial insects, PCD of the gonadal cells in workers is the basis for conflict mediation and the division of labor in the colony. In the three ETIs discussed here, PCD likely played an essential role, without which alternate mechanisms would have been necessary for these increases in complexity to occur.