Rasmus Sandnes Haukedal

This book examines groundbreaking changes occurring within evolutionary theory, where the dominant gene-centered view that still occupies public imagination is being challenged by new perspectives. Under the banner of the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis, these changes have placed the organism and its agency back at the center of evolution, challenging long-held dogmas that seemed untouchable. By mapping these theoretical developments and examining their relationship with contemporary philosophical movements, this work builds toward a dialectical philosophy of nature, offering a systematic framework for how the humanities and philosophy can productively engage with natural science. It presents a new vision that places life at its center, seeking to unify different fields of knowledge while respecting their unique approaches and insights, rather than forcing them to conform to a single method.

In recent decades, there have been major theoretical changes within evolutionary biology. In this dissertation, I critically reconstruct these developments through philosophy to assess how it may inform these debates. The overall aim is to show the mutual relevance between current trends in biology and the dialectical approach to nature. I argue that the repetition of the neglected tradition of organicism is anticipated both by a dialectical tradition within science and by Hegel’s philosophy – and that these theories may together inform the ongoing shift within evolutionary biology called the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis (EES). I stage the discussion by outlining the tenets and history of the modern synthesis (MS) and the alternative: the extended evolutionary synthesis (EES). It takes us into topics such as autonomy, organisation, reduction, and autopoiesis. Based on these discussions, I make the case that the most promising alternative to the MS is the so-called organisational approach formulated within theoretical biology and apply dialectics to strengthen this claim. In my view, they share a fundamental premise: Biology must surpass the physical worldview and adopt a more complex model to comprehend life as an ongoing regeneration of organisation and an expression of self-determination. To bring out the philosophical stakes of this shift, I take on Hegel’s writings on nature, life, and purposiveness and relate them to contemporary thinkers. The main contribution of this work lies not in a particularly novel reading of any of the theories I examine but in bringing them together – both within philosophy and biology and between them – and systematically mapping how philosophy and the humanities should deal with the natural sciences. The new kind of naturalism suggested here, which places life at its core, also calls for another scientific ideal which strives for unification without subsumption or eradication of differences.