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Daniel J Nicholson @djnicholson.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

It's much worse than that. The paper is written as if the entire discipline of philosophy of biology (a professional field with its own journals, textbooks, international societies, monographs..) doesn't exist! Next time someone asks me why we need philosophy of biology I'll refer them to this paper

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svateboje.bsky.social @svateboje.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

a very nice paper from @djnicholson.bsky.social on similar structures in biology (esp recommended for the discussion of cellular heterogeneity). Population Thinking and the Uniqueness of Biological Entities Acta Biotheor. 2025 Jun 13;73(2):8. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Population Thinking and the Uniqueness of Biological Entities

The concept of ‘population thinking’ was introduced by Ernst Mayr in the mid-twentieth century and it has since become one of the most pervasive notions in the philosophy of biology. Despite its influ...

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Daniel J Nicholson @djnicholson.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

What an honour to have one of my favourite historians of biology, Laurent Loison, review my book for History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences. He does an amazing job summarizing the main scholarly contributions of the book. I particularly appreciated his reflection at the very end. Read it here

rdcu.be

Daniel J. Nicholson: What is life? Revisited

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Daniel J Nicholson @djnicholson.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

A very nice surprise awaited me in the mailbox this morning: this gem by @alejandrofabregastejeda.com. It’s a pleasure to see work like this come to fruition—elegant, insightful, and evidently the result of a tremendous amount of work. Looking forward to reading it closely. Congratulations again!

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Daniel J Nicholson @djnicholson.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

It was a pleasure to talk to Phil for an hour and a half about the conceptual foundations of the life sciences as part of his New Biology project. It's an exciting time to be a philosopher of biology! #hpbio #philsci #philsky

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Vera Straetmanns @yavannakemi.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

This semester, we will be reading selected chapters from "Everything flows", edited by @djnicholson.bsky.social and John Dupré in our Reading Group. All interested are welcome to join us at @ruhr-uni-bochum.de (room NDEF04/346). If needed, we can also arrange hybrid meetings. #HPBio #PhDSky

Poster for this semester's reading group. We meet every first Wednesday at 4:15pm (CET) at Ruhr University Bochum (room NDEF04/346). If you need more information (abstract of the book, topics of the individual dates, information about the moodle course etc.), please e-mail me! vera.straetmanns[at]rub.de

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Daniel J Nicholson @djnicholson.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

Here's another deep dive on 'What Is Life? Revisited' for Friction Philosophy. Surely there's nothing more to be said about Schrödinger's famous book? Think again! Join us as we travel from quantum mechanics to genetics & molecular biology via statistical mechanics, thermodynamics, & cybernetics

youtube.com

142. Dan Nicholson | What is Life?

YouTube video by Friction

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

This short book by @djnicholson.bsky.social is extraordinarily good for understanding not just the genesis, message and myths of Schrödinger's book but also why molecular biology developed in the way it did (and what's problematic about that). www.cambridge.org/core/element...

cambridge.org

What Is Life? Revisited

Cambridge Core - Philosophy of Science - What Is Life? Revisited

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Daniel J Nicholson @djnicholson.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

I had SO much fun talking to Paul for almost 2 hours about my new book on Schrödinger & molecular biology. Easily one of the most enjoyable podcasts I've ever done. Check it out! P.S. CUP has made the PDF of my book free to download for 2 more weeks. Get it here: www.cambridge.org/core/element...

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Daniel J Nicholson @djnicholson.bsky.social · 08/11/2025

When I presented my research on Schrödinger at CSHL, everyone was surprised to find Jim Watson seated up front in what was apparently his first public appearance since the pandemic. During my talk, he snored so loudly that he woke himself up, and in the Q&A he loudly described my argument as "Crap!"

James Watson attending a research talk by Daniel Nicholson on the legacy of Schrödinger's 'What Is Life?' at CSHL

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Daniel J Nicholson @djnicholson.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

Last chance to download my book for free! It's still available until tomorrow.

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Philipp Niethammer @niethammerlab.bsky.social · 18/10/2025

Daniel‘s lectures at our GSK Cancer Science Graduate School are always a curriculum highlight! Contemplating the implicit assumptions of modern biological science can foster new ways of thinking, as some of our old go-to concepts become unwieldy and show their limitations. Students loved it!

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Daniel J Nicholson @djnicholson.bsky.social · 10/10/2025

My little book on Schrödinger's famous classic 'What Is Life?' is out! Offering the most comprehensive analysis ever undertaken of the book's origins, reception, impact, and legacy, it uncovers Schrödinger's motivations in writing it, and shows how it has shaped our current understanding of the cell

cambridge.org

<i>What Is Life?</i> Revisited

Cambridge Core - Philosophy: General Interest - <i>What Is Life?</i> Revisited

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Philippe huneman @philippehune.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

If you missed that great Cognizing life conference in Tubingen organized by Christoph Hueck two weeks ago, here are the videos of the presentations. Talks by Denis Walsh, Joan Steigerwald, Dan Nicholson and many others. www.clc2025.de/videos

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Jim Lowe @jwelowe.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

Weds 14:30/16:30 #ISHPSSB2025 - Biological Variation: Theory and Practice With @djnicholson.bsky.social, Marlene van den Bos, Alan C. Love, Staffan Müller-Wille, Greg Radick, @rosetrappes.bsky.social, Cristina Villegas Explore variation across distinct epistemic & ontological frameworks with us!

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Vera Straetmanns @yavannakemi.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

Looking forward to the "Cognizing Life Conference 2025", 16.-19. July! With talks by @djnicholson.bsky.social, @dalianassar.bsky.social, @gregoryrupik.bsky.social, @philippehune.bsky.social and many more! You can participate online, all info here: www.clc2025.de #HPBio #PhilSci #HistSci

Screenshot of the website for the Cognizing Life Conference 2025.

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Daniel J Nicholson @djnicholson.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

Every biological entity is unique; no two are exactly alike. Is this a trivial observation, or a profound metaphysical claim about the living world? Read my new paper & find out! It deals with Mayr's "Population Thinking"; one of the most familiar yet tragically misunderstood ideas in all of biology

link.springer.com

Population Thinking and the Uniqueness of Biological Entities - Acta Biotheoretica

Acta Biotheoretica - The concept of ‘population thinking’ was introduced by Ernst Mayr in the mid-twentieth century and it has since become one of the most pervasive notions in the...

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Ehud @duhe.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

This is a very NEAT piece about biomolecular condensates from @philipcball.bsky.social chronicling fascinating discoveries. On the philosophical implications of a lot of this you should read @djnicholson.bsky.social. A brief ego thread on how this relates to my work on genomes follows. 1/4

scientificamerican.com

Mysterious Blobs in Cells Are Changing the Way We Understand Life

Tiny specks called biomolecular condensates are leading to a new understanding of the cell

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Gregory Kohn @kohngregory.bsky.social · 29/09/2024

Just came across @djnicholson.bsky.social's wonderful biography of one of my favorite biologists,E. S. Russell. philpapers.org/archive/NICE...

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