Erica Onnis, Transdisciplinarity and Research on Complex Systems – t-co.re@AMU/Iméra chairholder, is organising a workshop on Monday, March 30th 2026, all about the structure-function relationship in biology and metaphysics.
Copyright: Erica Onnis
A central topic in biology and metaphysics
The relationship between structure and function – as well as that between structural and causal properties – is a central topic in biology and metaphysics. Biologists have long recognized that biological structures and biological functions are inextricably linked. Yet philosophical accounts have tended to privilege one dimension over the other, focusing on causal and functional features while neglecting the importance of structural ones.
The structure-function relationship from both ontological and epistemological perspectives
This workshop aims to bring together biologists, philosophers of science, and metaphysicians to examine the structure-function relationship from both ontological and epistemological perspectives. Among the issues to be addressed: What is the ontological status of biological structures and biological functions, and how are they related? Are structures and functions genuinely co-dependent, or is one more ontologically fundamental than the other? How should we understand the emergence of novel features in biological systems, and what does their appearance reveal about the nature of biological organization?
Talks will be given in English.
- 10-11am: Margarida Hermida (King’s College London), Spatial Structure in Biology.
- 11.15am-12.15pm: Federico Boem (Cusano University Rome), Structure and Function in Microbiome Therapeutics.
1-2pm: Lunch break.
- 2.30-3.30pm: Erica Onnis (Cusano University Rome), Structural and Causal Novelty in Emergent Phenomena.
- 3.45-4.45: Michele Paolini Paoletti (University of Macerata), Complexity and External Relations.
- 5-6pm: Conclusive remarks.
This event is organised in collaboration with the Centre Gilles Gaston Granger (UMR 7304, amU/CNRS) as part of the t-co.re@AMU/Iméra Chair – Transdisciplinarity and Research on Complex Systems.
Practical information
- Date: Monday, March 30th, 2026
- Time: from 10 am to 6 pm
- Location: Maison Neuve conference room (first floor), Iméra, 2 place Leverrier 13004 Marseille
Coming to Iméra
- Pedestrian access: come through the gate of the 2 place Leverrier, 13004 Marseille.
- PRM access: come through the gate of the Allée Jean-Louis Pons, 13004 Marseille.
