Main talks in 2023
- January 12, 2023, “Does philosophy contribute to science”, Belgian Annual Scientific Meeting, Venice, Italy. Invited by Olivier Sartenaer (Namur) and René Rezsohazy (Louvain).
Main conferences/workshops organized or co-organized in 2023
- May 5-6, 2023, Fourth PhilInBioMed meeting, Cambridge University, UK.
- March 2, 2023, International Workshop on Constructive Neutral Evolution, PhilInBioMed & ImmunoConcept, University of Bordeaux, France, hybrid format. 20 participants.
Main talks in 2022
- Dec 6, 2022: “Extended immunity and its consequence for cancer”, Institut de Recherche Brestois, Brest, France.
- November 13, 2022, “What is philosophy in biology and medicine?”, Talk given with Maël Lemoine at the Third PhilInBioMed meeting, Pittsburgh, USA.
- November 10, 2022: “Do “anticancer mechanisms” exist?”, Philosophy of Science Association (PSA) Meeting, Pittsburgh, USA.
- October 24, 2022: “Extended immunity and its consequence for cancer”, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.
- October 14, 2022: “Reconceptualizing the dialogue between the immune system and cancer”, Institut Pasteur, Paris, invited by the Immunology Department (Philippe Bousso).
- June 28, 2022: “Should we revive The seed and soil metaphor? An immunological approach“, Rencontres du Cancéropôle du Grand Sud-Ouest, Toulouse, France.
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May 6, 2022, “Does philosophy contribute to science?”, University of California Irvine, California, USA. Invited by the Logic and Philosophy of Science Department.
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May 4, 2022, “Does philosophy contribute to science?”, Chapman University, California, USA. Invited by the Philosophy Department.
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May 3, 2022, “Does philosophy contribute to science?”, University of California San Diego, California, USA. Invited by Rob Knight (Biology Department).
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January 26, 2022: “La philosophie peut-elle vraiment contribuer à la science ? De la philosophie des sciences à la philosophie dans les sciences”, Grandes Conférences des Archives Henri Poincaré, Nancy, France.
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January 25, 2022: “Immuno-oncologie conceptuelle : fonctions et théories en immunologie“, 6èmes journées scientifiques Immunité et Cancer (JSIC).
Main conferences/workshops organized or co-organized in 2022
- November 13-14, 2022, Third PhilInBioMed meeting, University of Pittsburgh, USA. 50 participants.
- October 21, 2022, Workshop on biology, mathematics, and philosophy, with Frédéric Barraquand, University of Bordeaux, France. 15 participants.
- October 6-7, 2022, Fifth Philosophy of Cancer International Workshop: Cancer and Evolution, Arcachon, France. (40 participants). This workshop, which is the fifth of a series of international workshops on the conceptual and theoretical foundations of cancer research held in/around Bordeaux, gathered the best world-leading experts:
– David Bilder (University of Berkeley, USA), “Ancient origins of tumor-host interactions: insights from the Drosophila model”
– Thomas Bosch (Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Germany), “Hydra´s stable microbiome: key for escaping cancer?”
– James DeGregori (Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, USA), “Somatic evolution – causes and consequences”
– Mathieu Giraudeau (CNRS, La Rochelle, France), “Wildlife species as a source of inspiration in our fight against cancer?”
– Vera Gorbunova (Rochester, USA), “Evolution of tumor suppressor and longevity mechanisms: from bats to whales”
– Crisanto Gutierez (Centro de Biologia Molecular Severo Ochoa, CSIC-UAM, Madrid, Spain), “The Retinoblastoma/E2F pathway, an evolutionary ancient module in plants and animals”
– Hanna Kokko (Zürich, Switzerland), “Peto’s paradox in lemurs: insights from fitting the multi-step model of cancer to lifespan data”
– Carlo Maley (Arizona State University, USA), “The promise of evolution for the biggest problems in cancer”
– Elizabeth Murchison (Cambridge University, United Kingdom), “Transmissible cancers in mammals”
– Samir Okasha (Department of Philosophy, University of Bristol, United Kingdom), “Should cancer be viewed through the lens of social evolution theory?”
– Joshua D. Schiffman (MD, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Department of Pediatrics and Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Peel (“Elephant”) Therapeutics, Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah, USA and Haifa, Israel), “Elephants, Evolution, and Cancer: How elephants contributed to a new biotech focused on evolutionary medicine”
- September 5-9, 2022, Sixth European Advanced School in the Philosophy of the Life Sciences (EASPLS): Dealing with Complexity in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bordeaux, France. (50 participants).
- May 17, 2022: Workshop on conceptual approaches to cancer: “Collective Behavior and Local Environments in Cancer”, Gilbert Biological Sciences Bldg rm 334, Stanford University, California, USA. Co-organized by Thomas Pradeu & Deborah Gordon (Biology Department, Stanford). Speakers: David Bilder (Berkeley, USA), Andrew Ewald (Johns Hopkins, USA), Valerie Weaver (UCSF, USA), Alex Dunn (Stanford, USA), Zev Gartner (UCSF, USA). (15 participants).
Main talks in 2021
- December 6, 2021: “What is the immune system of oncoimmunology?”, invited talk at the Fourth Philosophy of Cancer Biology International Workshop, University of Bordeaux, France.
- November 23, 2021: “Cancer in the context of the organism“, ROTO group, invited by Jan Baedke, Rühr Universität Bochum, Germany. (Remote talk).
- November 13, 2021: ““Philosophy in Science: Definition and Boundaries”, Talk in Selected Symposium on “Philosophy in science: Can philosophers of science contribute to science?” at the Philosophy of Science Association (PSA) meeting, Baltimore, USA. (Remote talk).
- November 12, 2021: “Why science needs philosophy?”, Plenary conference at the Annual meeting of Indian Academy of Sciences. 200 attendees. (Remote talk).
- October 8, 2021: “The four dimensions of ‘extended immunity’: Phylogeny, functions, levels, and individuality”, Annual meeting of ITMO I3M (Immunology, Inflammation, Infection & Microbiology), CIML Marseille-Luminy, France. (Remote talk).
- October 7, 2021: “Immune System-Microbiota Interactions: Between Novelty and Stability“, Invited Talk, University of Toulouse, France.
- September 23, 2021: “Modèles du cancer : Pourquoi explorer les marges ?”, Premières rencontres interdisciplinaires de l’Oncosphère, La Rochelle, France.
- September 15, 2021: “Is cancer a breakdown of multicellularity?”, Talk in Selected Symposium, European Philosophy of Science Association (EPSA) meeting, Turin, Italy.
- July 13, 2021: “Is cancer a breakdown of multicellularity?”, Talk in Selected Symposium, ISHPSSB meeting, Cold Spring Harbor, USA. (Remote talk).
- February 3 ,2021: “Philosophy in Science: Can philosophers of science infiltrate science and produce scientific knowledge?”, Invited talk at Colloqium for science studies at the University of Oslo, Norway. (Remote talk).
- January 29, 2021: “Is cancer intrinsic to multicellularity?”,
Bordeaux-Bristol-Paris Cancer & Evolution Workshop, hybrid workshop co-organized by Samir Okasha, Lucie Laplane, and Thomas Pradeu.
Main conferences/Workshops organized or co-organized in 2021
- December 6-8, 2021, Fourth Philosophy of Cancer Biology International Workshop, University of Bordeaux, France. Plenary speakers: Andrew Ewald, Carlo Maley, Anya Plutynksi, Eric Solary. The workshop, which is the fourth of a series of international workshops on the conceptual and theoretical foundations of cancer research held in Bordeaux, also had invited and selected speakers.
- November 13, 2021: Organizer of Selected Symposium on “Philosophy in science: Can philosophers of science contribute to science?” at the Philosophy of Science Association (PSA) meeting, Baltimore, USA. (Remote talk). Speakers:
– Paul E. Griffiths, Professor, University of Sydney, Australia
– Maël Lemoine, Professor, University of Bordeaux, France
– Deborah G. Mayo, Professor emerita, Department of Philosophy, 235 Major Williams Hall, Virginia Tech, USA
– Randolph M. Nesse, Professor, Arizona State University, USA
– Thomas Pradeu, Senior Researcher, CNRS & University of Bordeaux, France
– Elliott Sober, Professor, Philosophy Department, University of Wisconsin – Madison
- September 15, 2021: Co-organizer (w/ Lucie Laplane) of Selected Symposium on “Understanding cancer: How can philosophy and biology contribute together?”, European Philosophy of Science Association (EPSA) meeting, Turin, Italy. Speakers: Alberto Mantovani (Humanitas, Milan, Italy), Lucie Laplane, Jonathan Sholl, and Thomas Pradeu.
- July 13, 2021: main organizer of Selected Symposium “Philosophy of Cancer”, ISHPSSB meeting, Cold Spring Harbor, USA. Speakers: Sara Green, Mina Bissell, Lucie Laplane, Anya Plutynski, Emily C Parke, Maël Lemoine, and Thomas Pradeu.
Main conferences/Workshops organized or co-organized in 2020
- October 5 ,2020, Third Philosophy of Cancer Biology International Workshop, University of Bordeaux, France. Plenary speakers: Fanny Jaulin (Gustave Roussy) & Andrei Seluanov (Univ. Rochester). The workshop, which is the third of a series of international workshops on the conceptual and theoretical foundations of cancer research held in Bordeaux, also had invited and selected speakers.
- February 12-13, 2020: “BIOLOGIE, HISTOIRE ET PHILOSOPHIE : Journées en l’honneur de Michel Morange”, Panthéon-Sorbonne University, Paris, France. (Co-organizers: Denis Forest, Laurent Loison, Maël Lemoine, Thomas Pradeu, Stéphane Tirard).
- January 20-21, 2020: Second Philosophy of Cancer International Workshop, 50 participants, University of Bordeaux, France. Plenary speakers: Jérôme Galon (INSERM, Paris France), Joel Brown (Moffitt Cancer Center, USA). The workshop, which is the second of a series of international workshops on the conceptual and theoretical foundations of cancer research held in Bordeaux, also had invited and selected speakers. (Co-organizers: Sara Green, Lucie Laplane, Maël Lemoine, Thomas Pradeu)
Main talks in 2020
- February 19, 2020: Invited speaker, University College London, UK: “Who Are We? Key Lessons of Immunology on Biological Individuality”
- February 25, 2020: Invited speaker, INSA Lyon, France: “Host-symbiont interactions in the development of organisms across phyla: Heterogeneous individuality and the unifying role of the immune system”
- February 28, 2020: Invited speaker, Ecole normale supérieure de Paris: “Philosophy “in” science: How philosophers can infiltrate science, with an example from immunology”
Main conferences/Workshops organized or co-organized in 2019
- October 3-5, 2018: The Definitions of Humanity, Bordeaux & Les Eyzies, France
- March 26, 2019: Cancer and the Tumor Microenvironment: Development, Evolution, and the Microbiota, Bordeaux, France. Speakers: Ezio Laconi (Cagliari, Italy), Jean-François Moreau (Bordeaux), Thomas Pradeu (Bordeaux), Elena Rondeau (Bordeaux), Christine Varon (Bordeaux).
Main talks in 2019
- December 3-6, 2019: Plenary speaker at the 19th meeting of the Société française de Transplantation, Bordeaux, France: “Transplantation et individualité : à l’interface entre immunologie et philosophie”
- November 12-14, 2019: Plenary speaker at the 52nd Annual meeting of the French Society for Immunology, Nantes, France: “A philosophical approach to the immune system”
- October 21-25, 2019: Jacques Monod Conference (CNRS) on “Virus evolution on the mutualist-parasite continuum”, Roscoff, France. Plenary speaker: “he dialogue between mutualistic viruses and the immune system”.
- September 10-14, 2019, Meeting of the European Philosophy of Science Association, Geneva, Switzerland. Organizer of selected symposium on “Philosophy in Science: Can Philosophers Contribute to Science, and If So, How?”. Talk: Maël Lemoine & Thomas Pradeu: “Philosophy in Science: Definition and Boundaries”. Other speakers: Lucie Laplane (Paris), Tim Lewens (HPS Cambridge), and Ralph Adolphs (Caltech).
- July 7-12, 2019, Meeting of the ISHPSSB, Oslo, Norway. Organizer of selected symposium on “Philosophy in biology and medicine: The microbiota and biological individuality (double session). Talk: “Immunity and host-microbiota integration”. Other speakers:Wiebke Bretting (Bordeaux), Rob Knight (UC San Diego, USA), Gregor Greslehner (Bordeaux), Silvia Bulgheresi (University of Vienna, Austria), John Huss (The University of Akron, USA).
- April 17, 2019: Invited speaker at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Berlin (Wiko): “Defining the organism: lessons from immunology”
Main talks in 2018
- December 5, 2018: “Approches conceptuelles en immunologie : individualité et explication de la réponse immunitaire”, Conférence plénière du Congrès de la Société francophone de transplantation, Toulouse, France.
- November 15-16, 2018: “Identity, Substance, and Processes: A Biological Viewpoint”, Identity Workshop (Full program), Granada, Spain.
- November 8, 2018: “Que devient notre individualité face aux recherches actuelles sur le microbiote?”, Assosciences Midi-Pyrénées, Toulouse, France.
- September 10-14, 2018: “A Plea for Philosophy in Science”, Fifth European Advanced School in the Philosophy of the Life Sciences (EASPLS): “Interdisciplinarity in the life sciences and their philosophy”, Konrad Lorenz institute for Evolution and Cognition Research (KLI), Klosterneuburg (Austria). Directors: Sabina Leonelli (Exeter) & Thomas Reydon (Hannover).
- September 10, 2018: “The Microbiome, the Immune System, and Individuality: A Philosophical Examination”, University of Vienna (Medical campus), Austria.
- July 9-14, 2018: EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) Meeting, session on “When Science Meets History and Philosophy of Science“ (organized by Lucie Laplane), with Paul Griffiths (Sydney), Lucie Laplane (IHPST & Gustave Roussy), Kate MacCord (MBL, Woods Hole), and Thomas Pradeu. Centre Pierre Baudis, Toulouse, France.
- July 5, 2018: “Individualité, auto-immunité et théorie de la discontinuité”, 1ère journée du Centre de Référence des Maladies Auto-Immunes Systémiques Rares de l’Est et du Sud-Ouest, Cité du Vin, Bordeaux.
- June 28-29, 2018: “Microbiome: The Second Immune System”, International Symposium “Microbiome and Human Evolution: Microbiology Meets Anthropology”, Paris, Collège de France, organized by Philippe Sansonetti.
- June 18, 2018: “Pourquoi passer de la Philosophie de la biologie à la Philosophie dans la biologie?”, Philosophy of Biology Seminar (Philbio), IHPST, Paris.
- June 8, 2018: “The Discontinuity Theory of Immunity”, International Gamma-delta Conference, Bordeaux.
- June 6, 2018: “The indispensable dialogue between science and philosophy: The case of immunology and individuality”, AMGEN Scholars Program, Institut Pasteur, Paris.
- May 24, 2018: “Why Science needs Philosophy: One example of a dialogue between immunology and philosophy”, XII PhD Students’ Meeting, Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Lisbon, Portugal.
- February 6, 2018: “La philosophie dans la biologie: De quelques défis de l’interdisciplinarité”, Université Bordeaux-Montaigne, Séminaire Sciences & Société.
- February 2, 2018: A. Guay & T. Pradeu “To be continued: the genidentity of physical and biological processes”, Entretiens HPS de Paris-Diderot, Paris (invitation: Nadine de Courtenay).
- February 2, 2018: “Individu, identité, auto-immunité”, Auto-ImmunoSEM (autoimmunity seminar), Paris.
- January 24, 2018: “How can philosophy contribute to science? The example of immunology and individuality”, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Sorbonne Univ., Developmental Biology Lab.
- January 23, 2018: “Situating Metaphysics of Science”, Grounding and Reduction Workshop around Tuomas E. Tahko (organized by Jean-Baptiste Rauzy), Paris-Sorbonne University.
- January 11, 2018: “Immunology and Individuality: A Philosophical Examination”, Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif. Invitation: Lucie Laplane.
Main conferences/Workshops organized or co-organized in 2018
- October 15-17, 2018, First Philosophy of Cancer Biology International Workshop, PUSG, University of Bordeaux, France. The workshop, which is the first of a series of international workshops on the conceptual and theoretical foundations of cancer research held in Bordeaux, also had invited and selected speakers. Co-organized by Sara Green, Lucie Laplane, Maël Lemoine, Thomas Pradeu, and Elena Rondeau, and funded by Thomas Pradeu’s ERC-funded project IDEM.
- June 19, 2018, Robustness Workshop, Pey-Berland, University of Bordeaux, France:
Fridolin Gross: “Robust mechanisms or mechanisms of robustness?”
Marie-Elise Truchetet & Thomas Pradeu: “Re-thinking our understanding of immunity: Robustness in the tissue reconstruction system”
Jonathan Sholl: “Physiological robustness”
Paul Griffiths: Beyond canalisation: robustness in developmental systems
Elena Rondeau: “Understanding cancer progression and its control: the (im)balance between tissue construction, destruction and reconstruction?”
Jan Pieter Konsman: “Central components of the systemic inflammatory response confer robustness to the infected host through functionally redundant regulatory processes”
Chaired by Maël Lemoine.
- May 22, 2018: co-organizer of international workshop on “P value and causality”, with Tyler VanderWeele, Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, USA and Jon Williamson, University of Kent (UK), ISPED, Bordeaux, France.
- March 21-22, 2018: co-organizer of a two-day seminar on Causality in the Sciences, Chateau Sentout, Bordeaux, France. Plenary speaker: Federica Russo.
- March 19, 2018: co-organizer of the workshop “Key Concepts in Neuroimmunology, a dialogue between Philosophers and Scientists”, University of Bordeaux, Centre de Génomique Fonctionnelle, France.
Talks in 2017
- December 13, 2017, Centre de Biologie Intégrative (Université Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier), “Pourquoi et comment pratiquer la philosophie dans les sciences?” Invited by Marie-Christine MIQUEL (MiNDING team, CRCA).
- December 6, 2017, Institut Jacques Monod, “Faire dialoguer la philosophie des sciences avec la biologie et la médecine”, co-organized by Lucie Laplane & Thomas Pradeu: “Faire de la philosophie dans un laboratoire d’immunologie : l’exemple de la mobilité des cellules immunitaires en 3D”.November 9, 2017, Lakatos Award Lecture, London School of Economics (UK): “Why Philosophy in Science? Re-Visiting Immunology and Biological Individuality”.
- October 26, 2017, Séminaire des “Jeudis de l’Histoire et de la Philosophie des Sciences”, Ecole normale supérieure de Paris-Ulm: “La philosophie peut-elle vraiment être utile à la science? Invited by Michel Morange. October 10-11, 2017, First Bordeaux-Geneva Workshop, Geneva, Switzerland: “Why is immunology essential to biological individuality?” Workshop organized by Marcel Weber and Derek Skillings.
- October 5, 2017, Centre de Physiopathologie de Toulouse Purpan, Toulouse, France: “The immune system and the unification of the organism”, invited by Roland Liblau.
- June 28, 2017, Colloque Interdisciplinarité, U. Bordeaux, Victoire: “Faire de la philosophie dans les sciences : un exemple d’interdisciplinarité dans le laboratoire ImmunoConcept à Bordeaux”. Organized by Cédric Brun (U. Bordeaux, SPH), Antoine Roger (Sciences Po. Bordeaux, CED), Pascal Ragouet (U. Bordeaux, CED) & Charlotte Brives (CNRS, CED).
- June 19, 2017, NutriNeuro, Bordeaux, France: “The self as an ecosystem: The dialogue between the microbiota and immunity in the construction of the individual”, invited by Sophie Layé.
- May 5, 2017, Toxalim, INRA, Toulouse, “Le soi comme écosystème : le dialogue entre microbiote et immunité dans la construction de l’individu”, invited by Muriel Mercier-Bonin.
- April 21, 2017, CABD (Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo), Seville, Spain: “Immunity and Individuality: An Instance of Philosophy in Science”. Invited by Nacho Maseo.
- April 7, 2017, Annual Lecture Series of the Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh, USA: “Immunity and Individuality: An Instance of Philosophy in Science”(Video of the talk available).
- March 13-15, 2017, Journées en l’honneur de Jean Gayon, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Paris, Paris, France: “Jean Gayon, l’histoire, la philosophie et la biologie : Une synthèse moderne” (“Jean Gayon, history, philosophy and biology: a modern synthesis”)
- February 10, 2017, O21/s’Orienter au XXIe siècle, Rocher de Palmer, Cenon, participation au débat : “Tous les métiers transformés par le numérique… Vraiment ?”
- February 2, 2017, 10th Congress of the EAHAD (European Association for Haemophilia and Allied Disorders), Paris: “After the danger theory, is the discontinuity theory the next paradigm to understand the immune response?”
Conferences/Workshops organized or co-organized in 2017
- December 6, 2017, Institut Jacques Monod, “Faire dialoguer la philosophie des sciences avec la biologie et la médecine”, co-organized by Lucie Laplane & Thomas Pradeu.
- December 1, 2017, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France: Herbert Virgin(Washington University School of Medicine, USA), “Control of immunity by the virome, and vice versa“. Organized by Gérard Eberl & Thomas Pradeu.
- November 23, 2017, U. Bordeaux, Centre de Génomique fonctionnelle: Alberto Mantovani (Humanitas Clinical and Research Center; Humanitas University, Rozzano (Milan), Italy): “Inflammation, immunity and cancer: from bench to bedside“, organized by T. Pradeu.
- November 20-21, 2017, Third Bordeaux-San Sebastian Workshop in Philosophy of Biology, Bidart, France, co-organized by Leonardo Bich, Arantza Etxeberria & Thomas Pradeu.
- September 21, 2017, U. Bordeaux, ISPED Amphitheater: Mina Bissell (Berkeley, USA): “Why Don’t We Get More Cancer: The tales of ECM and p53 signaling”, organized by T. Pradeu.
- May 17, 2017, NeuroFrance, Bordeaux, France. Duhem Lectures of the Société de philosophie des sciences (SPS): “Dialogue between a philosopher and a neuroscientist: What will/should a neuroscience of emotion look like?”, with Ralph Adolphs (Caltech) and Daniel Andler (Paris-Sorbonne & ENS), organized by T. Pradeu.
- April 10-11, 2017, Second Bordeaux-San Sebastian Workshop in Philosophy of Biology, Pey-Berland, Bordeaux, France. Workshop topic: “Biological Identity: Robustness, Organisation, and the Microbiota”. Organized by Leonardo Bich; Arantza Etxeberria & Thomas Pradeu.
In 2016:
- December 13, 2016, La Victoire, Bordeaux, France: Journée Plantes & Philosophie, co-organisée par Sophie Gerber (INRA) et Thomas Pradeu (CNRS).
- December 1st, 2016, Journées francophones de nutrition (Nov30-Dec2), Corum, Montpellier, France: “Comment la connaissance du microbiote modifie-t-elle la connaissance de l’individu?” Plenary speaker. Programme complet.
- October 20-21, 2016, San Sebastian, Spain, First Bordeaux-San Sebastian Workshop in Philosophy of Biology: “The immune system and the unification of the organism”.
- October 13-14, 2016, Montpellier, Congrès annuel de la Société d’Hématologie et d’Immunologie Pédiatrique: “La théorie immunologique de la discontinuité face au défi du microbiote”, invited by Nizar Mahlaoui.
- September 26, 2016, Campus IFOM-IEO, Milan, Italy: “What is an Individual? Immunology, the Microbiota, and the Discontinuity Theory”. Invited by Maria Rescigno & Mattia Andreoletti.
- September 16, 2016, Université de Bordeaux, France: co-organizer, with Lucie Laplane, of the international workshop “Cancer & Evolution“. 7 speakers. Talk on “Immunoediting & Cancer Evolution”, in collaboration with Dorothée Duluc.
- June 29-July 1st, 2016, 6th Meeting of the Societé de philosophie des sciences, Lausanne, Switzerland: “Ch-ch-changes: diachronic identity and the immune system as a sensor of change (A tribute to David Bowie)”.
- June 14-16, 2016, Université de Bordeaux, France: co-organizer, with Lynn Chiu, of the international workshop “30 Years After The Dialectical Biologist: New Frontiers In Eco-Devo And Microbiota-Host Co-Construction“. 15 speakers. Talk on “The Dialectics of Host-Microbe Interactions.”
- June 2-3, 2016, Institute of Philosophy, University of London, UK: “Animalism & Identity: Confronting the Biological Approach with Biology” (in collaboration with Adam Ferner), invited by Anne Sophie Meincke (Exeter) & John Dupré (Exeter), international conference “Biological Identity“, 14 speakers.
- April 28, 2016: Paris, France, IHPST: co-organizer, with Lucie Laplane, of the international workshop “Philosophy & Cancer“. 10 speakers.
- April 13, 2016: Institut Pasteur, Paris, France, invited by Pedro Hernandez: “Are we all ecosystems? Host-symbiont interactions, development, and immunity”. Video of the talk.
- April 7, 2016: Bordeaux, Institut de Chimie & Biologie des Membranes & des Nano-objets (CBMN): “Are We All Microorganisms? Ecosystemic individuality & the unifying role of the immune system” (Annual scientific meeting of the CBMN), invited by Véronique Trézéguet.
- March 30, 2016, Université de Perpignan: “The applicability of the discontinuity theory of immunity to plants and invertebrates”, invitation Benjamin Gourbal, International workshop “Innate immune memory in invertebrates“. 9 speakers.
- March 25, 2016, Oncopôle, Toulouse, France: “Thérapeutique et cancer : une approche philosophique “. Cancer Research Center of Toulouse. Invited by Mary Poupot.
- March 18, 2016, Fédération de Recherche en Biologie de Toulouse: “Host-symbiont interactions in the development of organisms across phyla:Ecosystemic individuality & the unifying role of the immune system”. Invited by Olivier Neyrolles.
- Feb 5, 2016: Dijon, France, UMR Biogéosciences, invitation Thierry Rigaud: “Host-symbiont interactions in the development of organisms across phyla: Ecosystemic individuality and the unifying role of the immune system”.
- Jan 28, 2016: Munich, LMU, Institute for Immunology, Germany, invitation Reinhardt Obst: “The discontinuity theory of immunity: A philosopher’s view on the dynamics of the immune system”.
- Jan 15, 2016: INRA Jouy-en-Josas, MICALIS (microbiota group), France, invitation Muriel Thomas: “Host-symbiont interactions in the development of organisms across phyla: Ecosystemic individuality and the unifying role of the immune system”.
In 2015:
- December 16-18, 2015: New Trends in the Metaphysics of Sciences, Paris, France. Organized by Max Kistler and Emile Thalabard. Talk Alexandre Guay and Thomas Pradeu, “Situating Metaphysics of Science”.
- November 19-20, 2015: Symbiosis meeting, Egenis, Exeter, UK: “Host-symbiont interactions in the development of organisms across phyla: Ecosystemic individuality and the unifying role of the immune system”.
- November 5-6, 2015: Journées Cancéropôle du Grand Sud-Ouest, Bordeaux : “Thérapeutique et cancer, une approche philosophique.”September 23-26, 2015: Meeting of the European Philosophy of Science Association (EPSA), Düsseldorf, Germany. Alexandre Guay and Thomas Pradeu, “Situating Metaphysics of Science: Back to Square One.” Part of the session “Science within metaphysics and metaphysics within science: Articulating the relationship between metaphysics of science and traditional metaphysics.” Speakers: Helen Beebee, Steven French, Alyssa Ney, Alexandre Guay & Thomas Pradeu.
- September 8, 2015: “Indibio” program (Individual in biology), Villefranche-sur-Mer, Workshop “Individuality and immortality: Lessons from organisms with complex life cycles“, Sorbonne Universités, organized by Lucas Leclere: “Host-symbiont interactions in the development of organisms across phyla: Ecosystemic individuality and the unifying role of the immune system”.
- September 10, 2015: VIROTEAM, Marseille, France: “Sommes-nous tous des micro-organismes?”
- July 5-10, 2015: organizer of the session “Ecological Approaches to Organismal Development”, Meeting of the ISHPSSB, Montreal, Canada.
Participants: Ehab Abouheif (McGill University), Scott Gilbert (Swarthmore College, USA & University of Helsinki), Thomas Pradeu (CNRS & University of Bordeaux), and Karine Prévot (Paris-Ouest Nanterre University). This session is organized in coordination with the session “Physical Science Approaches to Organismal Development” (co-organized by Alan Love and Bill Wimsatt; Participants: Karl Niklas (Cornell University), Robert Batterman (University of Pittsburgh), Alan C. Love (University of Minnesota), Laura Nilson (McGill University)), under the general heading “Alternative Explanatory Approaches to Organismal Development“.
- June 16-17, 2015: co-organizer (with Adam Ferner) of the international conference “Organic Individuals”, Paris-Sorbonne University, Amphi. Guizot.
- June 1, 2015: Disputatio avec Francis Wolff, Lundis de la Philosophie, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France.
- May 26, 2015: “Reproduction et évolution des communautés symbiotiques”, Centre François Viète, Université de Nantes, à l’invitation de Stéphane Tirard, Séminaire “Réplication et reproduction en biologie contemporaine : les enjeux”.
- May 19, 2015: Exposé Rectorat Académie de Rouen, destiné aux professeurs de SVT de l’Académie : Identité et tolérance en immunologie (Identity and Tolerance in Immunology).
- May 11, 2015: “E Pluribus Unum: What Makes Our Biological Identity?”, Retreat Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience-BIC, Lacanau, France.
- April 24, 2015: “E Pluribus Unum: What Makes Our Biological Identity?“, Night of Philosophy, New York, USA.
- March 24, 2015: “Vers une approche écologique de l’organisme”, Réseau Ecologie et Interactions Durables (REID), Lyon, France.
- March 19, 2015: “Entre gènes et environnement : Expliquer le développement biologique”, CIRID, Bordeaux University.
In 2014:
- December 8, 2014: Individu biologique, Club PhilBioMed, IHPST, Paris. Debate with Philippe Huneman and Matteo Mossio.
- December 4, 2014: “L’organisme est-il un individu ou une communauté?”. Colloque de la FR “TransBioMed” (Bordeaux).
- November 20-21, 2014: Process Philosophy of Biology, Egenis, University of Exeter, UK. Organized by John Dupré and Dan Nicholson. ERC Project PROBIO. Title of my talk: ‘Genidentity and Biological Processes’.
- November 6-9, 2014: Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association (PSA), Chicago, IL, USA. Chairing of a session organized by Maureen O’Malley on ‘Complex Life Cycles, Reproduction and Evolution’, with Peter Godfrey-Smith, Matthew Herron, Maureen O’Malley and James Griesemer.
- November 3, 2014: talk (in French) in the Paris 2nd-year Master Program in Immunology, Paris-Diderot University, France (invited by Mireille Viguier): ‘Quelle théorie pour l’immunologie?’
- October 24, 2014: talk (in French) at the Institut Jacques Monod (invited by Giuseppe Baldacci & Mireille Viguier), Paris, France: ‘L’identité biologique : une réalité composite’.
- October 20, 2014: talk (in French) at the “Lundis de la Philosophie” (Francis Wolff), Ecole normale supérieure de Paris, France: ‘Construire le dialogue entre sciences et métaphysique : L’exemple de la notion d’individu en biologie’.
- September 9-10, 2014: Explaining Development, Istituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere ed Arti, Venice. This workshop is co-organized by Alessandro Minelli (Padova) and Thomas Pradeu. It gathers development biologists, evo-devo people and philosophers, to address the question of how to best explain developmental processes.
- June 23-24, 2014: Redefining the Self: Biological and Philosophical Perspectives, Paris-Sorbonne University, amphi. Richelieu, June 23-24 (co-organized with Hugues Bersini, Marc Daëron, Leïla Périé and Véronique Thomas-Vaslin). This conference gathered world-leading immunologists, microbiologists and philosophers, for a common critical examination of the notions of self, nonself, identity, individuality and uniqueness in current biological sciences.
In 2013:
- Co-organization (with Alexandre Manafu, Alexandre Guay and Max Kistler) of a conference on individuals in the metaphysics of science (ANR “Métaphysique des sciences”) (IHPST, Paris, November 18-19, 2013)Présentation “Quelle théorie pour l’immunologie?” devant les étudiants de M2 Immunologie des Universités Paris 5, 6 et 7 (4 Novembre 2013)Co-organization (with Evelyn Houliston, UPMC) of the meeting What is development? A dialogue between biologists and philosophers (Station marine de Villefranche-sur-Mer, Sept 4-5, 2013)Organization of the 2013 meetingof the International Society for History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology (ISHPSSB) (co-chair of the program committee with Michel Morange) (Montpellier, July 7-12, 2013) Organization of the conferenceThere won’t be blood: a dialogue on human cooperation, a dialogue between philosopher Kim Sterelny and psychologist Michael Tomasello (Paris-Sorbonne University, June 27, 2013)
- Organisation du colloque Cognition, adaptation et complexité : des êtres vivants aux robots, en partenariat avec l’ISIR (UPMC) (Maison de la Recherche, Univ. Paris-Sorbonne, April 11, 2013)Co-organization with John Dupré (Univ. of Exeter) and Gladys Kostyrka (IHPST) of the conference Microbes, Evolution, Metabolism (IHPST, Paris, February 4-5, 2013)
- Le soi et son autre : individualité biologique, greffes et symbioses(Univ. Toulouse Le Mirail, Toulouse, Jan 16, 2013)
In 2012:
- Emergence in science / L’émergence dans les sciences : Programme (Univ. Paris-Sorbonne, Paris, Dec 11, 2012)
- Situating Metaphysics of Science: Back to Square One (Univ. Roma 3, Rome, Nov 6, 2012)
- To be continued: The genidentity of physical and biological processes (with A. Guay) (Conference Individual across sciences: A revisionary metaphysics?, org. A. Guay & T. Pradeu, Paris-Sorbonne University, Paris, May 18-20, 2012)
- “Situating Metaphysics of Science: Back to Square One” (with A. Guay) (Paris, Conference on Metaphysical Knowledge, org. P. Ludwig, F. Drapeau-Contim & T. Pradeu, March 29-31, 2012)“Comment expliquer la réponse immunitaire? Une critique de la théorie du danger” (Marseille, Centre d’immunologie de Marseille Luminy, April 5, 2012)“Théories, modèles et paradigmes en biologie moléculaire : Le cas de l’immunologie” (Marseille, Ecole doctorale Sciences de la vie et de la santé, April 4, 2012)“La construction des normes de la science” (Ecole française de Rome, Rome, March 17, 2012)
In 2011:
- “Constructing the Organism” (American Philosophical Association, invited talk, Dec 29, 2011)
- (Dec 2011)Evolution et émergence (Conférence “Emergence : enjeux du réductionnisme en philosophie des sciences“, Bordeaux, Univ. Bordeaux 3, November 10, 2011)
Main talks in 2023
Main talks in 2022
Main talks in 2021
Conferences/Workshops organized or co-organized in 2020
February 12-13: “BIOLOGIE, HISTOIRE ET PHILOSOPHIE Journées en l’honneur de Michel Morange”, Panthéon-Sorbonne University, Paris, France. (Co-organizers: Denis Forest, Laurent Loison, Maël Lemoine, Thomas Pradeu, Stéphane Tirard).
January 20-21: Philosophy of Cancer Conference, 50 participants, Bordeaux, France (2020) (Co-organizers: Sara Green, Lucie Laplane, Maël Lemoine, Thomas Pradeu)
Main talks in 2020
February 19: Invited speaker, University College London, UK: “Who Are We? Key Lessons of Immunology on Biological Individuality”
February 25: Invited speaker, INSA Lyon, France: “Host-symbiont interactions in the development of organisms across phyla: Heterogeneous individuality and the unifying role of the immune system”
February 28: Invited speaker, Ecole normale supérieure de Paris: “Philosophy “in” science: How philosophers can infiltrate science, with an example from immunology”
Conferences/Workshops organized or co-organized in 2019
October 3-5, 2018: The Definitions of Humanity, Bordeaux & Les Eyzies, France
March 26, 2019: Cancer and the Tumor Microenvironment: Development, Evolution, and the Microbiota, Bordeaux, France. Speakers: Ezio Laconi (Cagliari, Italy), Jean-François Moreau (Bordeaux), Thomas Pradeu (Bordeaux), Elena Rondeau (Bordeaux), Christine Varon (Bordeaux).
Main talks in 2019
December 3-6, 2019: Plenary speaker at the 19th meeting of the Société française de Transplantation, Bordeaux, France: “Transplantation et individualité : à l’interface entre immunologie et philosophie”
November 12-14, 2019: Plenary speaker at the 52nd Annual meeting of the French Society for Immunology, Nantes, France: “A philosophical approach to the immune system”
October 21-25, 2019: Jacques Monod Conference (CNRS) on “Virus evolution on the mutualist-parasite continuum”, Roscoff, France. Plenary speaker: “he dialogue between mutualistic viruses and the immune system”.
September 10-14, 2019, Meeting of the European Philosophy of Science Association, Geneva, Switzerland. Organizer of selected symposium on “Philosophy in Science: Can Philosophers Contribute to Science, and If So, How?”. Talk: Maël Lemoine & Thomas Pradeu: “Philosophy in Science: Definition and Boundaries”. Other speakers: Lucie Laplane (Paris), Tim Lewens (HPS Cambridge), and Ralph Adolphs (Caltech).
July 7-12, 2019, Meeting of the ISHPSSB, Oslo, Norway. Organizer of selected symposium on “Philosophy in biology and medicine: The microbiota and biological individuality (double session). Talk: “Immunity and host-microbiota integration”. Other speakers:Wiebke Bretting (Bordeaux), Rob Knight (UC San Diego, USA), Gregor Greslehner (Bordeaux), Silvia Bulgheresi (University of Vienna, Austria), John Huss (The University of Akron, USA).
April 17, 2019: Invited speaker at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Berlin (Wiko): “Defining the organism: lessons from immunology”
Talks in 2018
December 5, 2018: “Approches conceptuelles en immunologie : individualité et explication de la réponse immunitaire”, Conférence plénière du Congrès de la Société francophone de transplantation, Toulouse, France.
November 15-16, 2018: “Identity, Substance, and Processes: A Biological Viewpoint”, Identity Workshop (Full program), Granada, Spain.
November 8, 2018: “Que devient notre individualité face aux recherches actuelles sur le microbiote?”, Assosciences Midi-Pyrénées, Toulouse, France.
September 10-14, 2018: “A Plea for Philosophy in Science”, Fifth European Advanced School in the Philosophy of the Life Sciences (EASPLS): “Interdisciplinarity in the life sciences and their philosophy”, Konrad Lorenz institute for Evolution and Cognition Research (KLI), Klosterneuburg (Austria). Directors: Sabina Leonelli (Exeter) & Thomas Reydon (Hannover).
September 10, 2018: “The Microbiome, the Immune System, and Individuality: A Philosophical Examination”, University of Vienna (Medical campus), Austria.
July 9-14, 2018: EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) Meeting, session on “When Science Meets History and Philosophy of Science“ (organized by Lucie Laplane), with Paul Griffiths (Sydney), Lucie Laplane (IHPST & Gustave Roussy), Kate MacCord (MBL, Woods Hole), and Thomas Pradeu. Centre Pierre Baudis, Toulouse, France.
July 5, 2018: “Individualité, auto-immunité et théorie de la discontinuité”, 1ère journée du Centre de Référence des Maladies Auto-Immunes Systémiques Rares de l’Est et du Sud-Ouest, Cité du Vin, Bordeaux.
June 28-29, 2018: “Microbiome: The Second Immune System”, International Symposium “Microbiome and Human Evolution: Microbiology Meets Anthropology”, Paris, Collège de France, organized by Philippe Sansonetti.
June 18, 2018: “Pourquoi passer de la Philosophie de la biologie à la Philosophie dans la biologie?”, Philosophy of Biology Seminar (Philbio), IHPST, Paris.
June 8, 2018: “The Discontinuity Theory of Immunity”, International Gamma-delta Conference, Bordeaux.
June 6, 2018: “The indispensable dialogue between science and philosophy: The case of immunology and individuality”, AMGEN Scholars Program, Institut Pasteur, Paris.
May 24, 2018: “Why Science needs Philosophy: One example of a dialogue between immunology and philosophy”, XII PhD Students’ Meeting, Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Lisbon, Portugal.
February 6, 2018: “La philosophie dans la biologie: De quelques défis de l’interdisciplinarité”, Université Bordeaux-Montaigne, Séminaire Sciences & Société.
February 2, 2018: A. Guay & T. Pradeu “To be continued: the genidentity of physical and biological processes”, Entretiens HPS de Paris-Diderot, Paris (invitation: Nadine de Courtenay).
February 2, 2018: “Individu, identité, auto-immunité”, Auto-ImmunoSEM (autoimmunity seminar), Paris.
January 24, 2018: “How can philosophy contribute to science? The example of immunology and individuality”, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Sorbonne Univ., Developmental Biology Lab.
January 23, 2018: “Situating Metaphysics of Science”, Grounding and Reduction Workshop around Tuomas E. Tahko (organized by Jean-Baptiste Rauzy), Paris-Sorbonne University.
January 11, 2018: “Immunology and Individuality: A Philosophical Examination”, Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif. Invitation: Lucie Laplane.
Conferences/Workshops organized or co-organized in 2018
October 15-17, 2018, Philosophy of Cancer Biology Workshop, PUSG, University of Bordeaux, France. Organized by Sara Green, Lucie Laplane, Maël Lemoine, Thomas Pradeu, and Elena Rondeau, and funded by Thomas Pradeu’s ERC-funded project IDEM.
June 19, 2018, Robustness Workshop, Pey-Berland, University of Bordeaux, France:
Fridolin Gross: “Robust mechanisms or mechanisms of robustness?”
Marie-Elise Truchetet & Thomas Pradeu: “Re-thinking our understanding of immunity: Robustness in the tissue reconstruction system”
Jonathan Sholl: “Physiological robustness”
Paul Griffiths: Beyond canalisation: robustness in developmental systems
Elena Rondeau: “Understanding cancer progression and its control: the (im)balance between tissue construction, destruction and reconstruction?”
Jan Pieter Konsman: “Central components of the systemic inflammatory response confer robustness to the infected host through functionally redundant regulatory processes”
Chaired by Maël Lemoine.
March 19, 2018: co-organizer of the workshop “Key Concepts in Neuroimmunology, a dialogue between Philosophers and Scientists”, University of Bordeaux, Centre de Génomique Fonctionnelle, France.
March 21-22, 2018: co-organizer of a two-day seminar on Causality in the Sciences, Chateau Sentout, Bordeaux, France. Plenary speaker: Federica Russo.
May 22, 2018: co-organizer of international workshop on “P value and causality”, with Tyler VanderWeele, Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, USA and Jon Williamson, University of Kent (UK), ISPED, Bordeaux, France.
Talks in 2017
- December 13, 2017, Centre de Biologie Intégrative (Université Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier), “Pourquoi et comment pratiquer la philosophie dans les sciences?” Invited by Marie-Christine MIQUEL (MiNDING team, CRCA).
December 6, 2017, Institut Jacques Monod, “Faire dialoguer la philosophie des sciences avec la biologie et la médecine”, co-organized by Lucie Laplane & Thomas Pradeu: “Faire de la philosophie dans un laboratoire d’immunologie : l’exemple de la mobilité des cellules immunitaires en 3D”.
November 9, 2017, Lakatos Award Lecture, London School of Economics (UK): “Why Philosophy in Science? Re-Visiting Immunology and Biological Individuality”.
- October 26, 2017, Séminaire des “Jeudis de l’Histoire et de la Philosophie des Sciences”, Ecole normale supérieure de Paris-Ulm: “La philosophie peut-elle vraiment être utile à la science? Invited by Michel Morange. October 10-11, 2017, First Bordeaux-Geneva Workshop, Geneva, Switzerland: “Why is immunology essential to biological individuality?” Workshop organized by Marcel Weber and Derek Skillings.
October 5, 2017, Centre de Physiopathologie de Toulouse Purpan, Toulouse, France: “The immune system and the unification of the organism”, invited by Roland Liblau.
June 28, 2017, Colloque Interdisciplinarité, U. Bordeaux, Victoire: “Faire de la philosophie dans les sciences : un exemple d’interdisciplinarité dans le laboratoire ImmunoConcept à Bordeaux”. Organized by Cédric Brun (U. Bordeaux, SPH), Antoine Roger (Sciences Po. Bordeaux, CED), Pascal Ragouet (U. Bordeaux, CED) & Charlotte Brives (CNRS, CED).
June 19, 2017, NutriNeuro, Bordeaux, France: “The self as an ecosystem: The dialogue between the microbiota and immunity in the construction of the individual”, invited by Sophie Layé.
- May 5, 2017, Toxalim, INRA, Toulouse, “Le soi comme écosystème : le dialogue entre microbiote et immunité dans la construction de l’individu”, invited by Muriel Mercier-Bonin.
- April 21, 2017, CABD(Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo), Seville, Spain: “Immunity and Individuality: An Instance of Philosophy in Science”. Invited by Nacho Maseo.
April 7, 2017, Annual Lecture Series of the Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh, USA: “Immunity and Individuality: An Instance of Philosophy in Science”(Video of the talk available).
March 13-15, 2017, Journées en l’honneur de Jean Gayon, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Paris, Paris, France: “Jean Gayon, l’histoire, la philosophie et la biologie : Une synthèse moderne” (“Jean Gayon, history, philosophy and biology: a modern synthesis”)February 10, 2017, O21/s’Orienter au XXIe siècle, Rocher de Palmer, Cenon, participation au débat : “Tous les métiers transformés par le numérique… Vraiment ?”February 2, 2017, 10th Congress of the EAHAD (European Association for Haemophilia and Allied Disorders), Paris: “After the danger theory, is the discontinuity theory the next paradigm to understand the immune response?”
Conferences/Workshops organized or co-organized in 2017
- December 6, 2017, Institut Jacques Monod, “Faire dialoguer la philosophie des sciences avec la biologie et la médecine”, co-organized by Lucie Laplane & Thomas Pradeu.
December 1, 2017, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France: Herbert Virgin (Washington University School of Medicine, USA), “Control of immunity by the virome, and vice versa“. Organized by Gérard Eberl & Thomas Pradeu.
November 23, 2017, U. Bordeaux, Centre de Génomique fonctionnelle: Alberto Mantovani (Humanitas Clinical and Research Center; Humanitas University, Rozzano (Milan), Italy): “Inflammation, immunity and cancer: from bench to bedside“, organized by T. Pradeu.
November 20-21, 2017, Third Bordeaux-San Sebastian Workshop in Philosophy of Biology, Bidart, France, co-organized by Leonardo Bich, Arantza Etxeberria & Thomas Pradeu.
September 21, 2017, U. Bordeaux, ISPED Amphitheater: Mina Bissell (Berkeley, USA): “Why Don’t We Get More Cancer: The tales of ECM and p53 signaling”, organized by T. Pradeu.
May 17, 2017, NeuroFrance, Bordeaux, France. Duhem Lectures of the Société de philosophie des sciences (SPS): “Dialogue between a philosopher and a neuroscientist: What will/should a neuroscience of emotion look like?”, with Ralph Adolphs (Caltech) and Daniel Andler (Paris-Sorbonne & ENS), organized by T. Pradeu.April 10-11, 2017, Second Bordeaux-San Sebastian Workshop in Philosophy of Biology, Pey-Berland, Bordeaux, France. Workshop topic: “Biological Identity: Robustness, Organisation, and the Microbiota”. Organized by Leonardo Bich; Arantza Etxeberria & Thomas Pradeu.
In 2016:
- December 13, 2016, La Victoire, Bordeaux, France: Journée Plantes & Philosophie, co-organisée par Sophie Gerber (INRA) et Thomas Pradeu (CNRS).
December 1st, 2016, Journées francophones de nutrition (Nov30-Dec2), Corum, Montpellier, France: “Comment la connaissance du microbiote modifie-t-elle la connaissance de l’individu?” Plenary speaker. Programme complet.
- October 20-21, 2016, San Sebastian, Spain, First Bordeaux-San Sebastian Workshop in Philosophy of Biology: “The immune system and the unification of the organism”.
- October 13-14, 2016, Montpellier, Congrès annuel de la Société d’Hématologie et d’Immunologie Pédiatrique: “La théorie immunologique de la discontinuité face au défi du microbiote”, invited by Nizar Mahlaoui.
September 26, 2016, Campus IFOM-IEO, Milan, Italy: “What is an Individual? Immunology, the Microbiota, and the Discontinuity Theory”. Invited by Maria Rescigno & Mattia Andreoletti.
September 16, 2016, Université de Bordeaux, France: co-organizer, with Lucie Laplane, of the international workshop “Cancer & Evolution“. 7 speakers. Talk on “Immunoediting & Cancer Evolution”, in collaboration with Dorothée Duluc.
June 29-July 1st, 2016, 6th Meeting of the Societé de philosophie des sciences, Lausanne, Switzerland: “Ch-ch-changes: diachronic identity and the immune system as a sensor of change (A tribute to David Bowie)”.
June 14-16, 2016, Université de Bordeaux, France: co-organizer, with Lynn Chiu, of the international workshop “30 Years After The Dialectical Biologist: New Frontiers In Eco-Devo And Microbiota-Host Co-Construction“. 15 speakers. Talk on “The Dialectics of Host-Microbe Interactions.”
- June 2-3, 2016, Institute of Philosophy, University of London, UK: “Animalism & Identity: Confronting the Biological Approach with Biology” (in collaboration with Adam Ferner), invited by Anne Sophie Meincke (Exeter) & John Dupré (Exeter), international conference “Biological Identity“, 14 speakers.
- April 28, 2016: Paris, France, IHPST: co-organizer, with Lucie Laplane, of the international workshop “Philosophy & Cancer“. 10 speakers.
- April 13, 2016: Institut Pasteur, Paris, France, invited by Pedro Hernandez: “Are we all ecosystems? Host-symbiont interactions, development, and immunity”. Video of the talk.
April 7, 2016: Bordeaux, Institut de Chimie & Biologie des Membranes & des Nano-objets (CBMN): “Are We All Microorganisms? Ecosystemic individuality & the unifying role of the immune system” (Annual scientific meeting of the CBMN), invited by Véronique Trézéguet.
- March 30, 2016, Université de Perpignan: “The applicability of the discontinuity theory of immunity to plants and invertebrates”, invitation Benjamin Gourbal, International workshop “Innate immune memory in invertebrates“. 9 speakers.
- March 25, 2016, Oncopôle, Toulouse, France: “Thérapeutique et cancer : une approche philosophique “. Cancer Research Center of Toulouse. Invited by Mary Poupot.
- March 18, 2016, Fédération de Recherche en Biologie de Toulouse: “Host-symbiont interactions in the development of organisms across phyla:Ecosystemic individuality & the unifying role of the immune system”. Invited by Olivier Neyrolles.
- Feb 5, 2016: Dijon, France, UMR Biogéosciences, invitation Thierry Rigaud: “Host-symbiont interactions in the development of organisms across phyla: Ecosystemic individuality and the unifying role of the immune system”.
- Jan 28, 2016: Munich, LMU, Institute for Immunology, Germany, invitation Reinhardt Obst: “The discontinuity theory of immunity: A philosopher’s view on the dynamics of the immune system”.
- Jan 15, 2016: INRA Jouy-en-Josas, MICALIS (microbiota group), France, invitation Muriel Thomas: “Host-symbiont interactions in the development of organisms across phyla: Ecosystemic individuality and the unifying role of the immune system”.
In 2015:
- December 16-18, 2015: New Trends in the Metaphysics of Sciences, Paris, France. Organized by Max Kistler and Emile Thalabard. Talk Alexandre Guay and Thomas Pradeu, “Situating Metaphysics of Science”.
- November 19-20, 2015: Symbiosis meeting, Egenis, Exeter, UK: “Host-symbiont interactions in the development of organisms across phyla: Ecosystemic individuality and the unifying role of the immune system”.
- November 5-6, 2015: Journées Cancéropôle du Grand Sud-Ouest, Bordeaux : “Thérapeutique et cancer, une approche philosophique.”September 23-26, 2015: Meeting of the European Philosophy of Science Association (EPSA), Düsseldorf, Germany. Alexandre Guay and Thomas Pradeu, “Situating Metaphysics of Science: Back to Square One.” Part of the session “Science within metaphysics and metaphysics within science: Articulating the relationship between metaphysics of science and traditional metaphysics.” Speakers: Helen Beebee, Steven French, Alyssa Ney, Alexandre Guay & Thomas Pradeu.
- September 8, 2015: “Indibio” program (Individual in biology), Villefranche-sur-Mer, Workshop “Individuality and immortality: Lessons from organisms with complex life cycles“, Sorbonne Universités, organized by Lucas Leclere: “Host-symbiont interactions in the development of organisms across phyla: Ecosystemic individuality and the unifying role of the immune system”.
- September 10, 2015: VIROTEAM, Marseille, France: “Sommes-nous tous des micro-organismes?”
- July 5-10, 2015: organizer of the session “Ecological Approaches to Organismal Development”, Meeting of the ISHPSSB, Montreal, Canada.
Participants: Ehab Abouheif (McGill University), Scott Gilbert (Swarthmore College, USA & University of Helsinki), Thomas Pradeu (CNRS & University of Bordeaux), and Karine Prévot (Paris-Ouest Nanterre University). This session is organized in coordination with the session “Physical Science Approaches to Organismal Development” (co-organized by Alan Love and Bill Wimsatt; Participants: Karl Niklas (Cornell University), Robert Batterman (University of Pittsburgh), Alan C. Love (University of Minnesota), Laura Nilson (McGill University)), under the general heading “Alternative Explanatory Approaches to Organismal Development“.
- June 16-17, 2015: co-organizer (with Adam Ferner) of the international conference “Organic Individuals”, Paris-Sorbonne University, Amphi. Guizot.
- June 1, 2015: Disputatio avec Francis Wolff, Lundis de la Philosophie, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France.
- May 26, 2015: “Reproduction et évolution des communautés symbiotiques”, Centre François Viète, Université de Nantes, à l’invitation de Stéphane Tirard, Séminaire “Réplication et reproduction en biologie contemporaine : les enjeux”.
- May 19, 2015: Exposé Rectorat Académie de Rouen, destiné aux professeurs de SVT de l’Académie : Identité et tolérance en immunologie (Identity and Tolerance in Immunology).
- May 11, 2015: “E Pluribus Unum: What Makes Our Biological Identity?”, Retreat Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience-BIC, Lacanau, France.
- April 24, 2015: “E Pluribus Unum: What Makes Our Biological Identity?“, Night of Philosophy, New York, USA.
- March 24, 2015: “Vers une approche écologique de l’organisme”, Réseau Ecologie et Interactions Durables (REID), Lyon, France.
- March 19, 2015: “Entre gènes et environnement : Expliquer le développement biologique”, CIRID, Bordeaux University.
In 2014:
- December 8, 2014: Individu biologique, Club PhilBioMed, IHPST, Paris. Debate with Philippe Huneman and Matteo Mossio.
- December 4, 2014: “L’organisme est-il un individu ou une communauté?”. Colloque de la FR “TransBioMed” (Bordeaux).
- November 20-21, 2014: Process Philosophy of Biology, Egenis, University of Exeter, UK. Organized by John Dupré and Dan Nicholson. ERC Project PROBIO. Title of my talk: ‘Genidentity and Biological Processes’.
- November 6-9, 2014: Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association (PSA), Chicago, IL, USA. Chairing of a session organized by Maureen O’Malley on ‘Complex Life Cycles, Reproduction and Evolution’, with Peter Godfrey-Smith, Matthew Herron, Maureen O’Malley and James Griesemer.
- November 3, 2014: talk (in French) in the Paris 2nd-year Master Program in Immunology, Paris-Diderot University, France (invited by Mireille Viguier): ‘Quelle théorie pour l’immunologie?’
- October 24, 2014: talk (in French) at the Institut Jacques Monod (invited by Giuseppe Baldacci & Mireille Viguier), Paris, France: ‘L’identité biologique : une réalité composite’.
- October 20, 2014: talk (in French) at the “Lundis de la Philosophie” (Francis Wolff), Ecole normale supérieure de Paris, France: ‘Construire le dialogue entre sciences et métaphysique : L’exemple de la notion d’individu en biologie’.
- September 9-10, 2014: Explaining Development, Istituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere ed Arti, Venice. This workshop is co-organized by Alessandro Minelli (Padova) and Thomas Pradeu. It gathers development biologists, evo-devo people and philosophers, to address the question of how to best explain developmental processes.
- June 23-24, 2014: Redefining the Self: Biological and Philosophical Perspectives, Paris-Sorbonne University, amphi. Richelieu, June 23-24 (co-organized with Hugues Bersini, Marc Daëron, Leïla Périé and Véronique Thomas-Vaslin). This conference gathered world-leading immunologists, microbiologists and philosophers, for a common critical examination of the notions of self, nonself, identity, individuality and uniqueness in current biological sciences.
In 2013:
- Co-organization (with Alexandre Manafu, Alexandre Guay and Max Kistler) of a conference on individuals in the metaphysics of science (ANR “Métaphysique des sciences”) (IHPST, Paris, November 18-19, 2013)Présentation “Quelle théorie pour l’immunologie?” devant les étudiants de M2 Immunologie des Universités Paris 5, 6 et 7 (4 Novembre 2013)Co-organization (with Evelyn Houliston, UPMC) of the meeting What is development? A dialogue between biologists and philosophers (Station marine de Villefranche-sur-Mer, Sept 4-5, 2013)Organization of the 2013 meetingof the International Society for History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology (ISHPSSB) (co-chair of the program committee with Michel Morange) (Montpellier, July 7-12, 2013) Organization of the conferenceThere won’t be blood: a dialogue on human cooperation, a dialogue between philosopher Kim Sterelny and psychologist Michael Tomasello (Paris-Sorbonne University, June 27, 2013)
Organisation du colloque Cognition, adaptation et complexité : des êtres vivants aux robots, en partenariat avec l’ISIR (UPMC) (Maison de la Recherche, Univ. Paris-Sorbonne, April 11, 2013)Co-organization with John Dupré (Univ. of Exeter) and Gladys Kostyrka (IHPST) of the conference Microbes, Evolution, Metabolism (IHPST, Paris, February 4-5, 2013)
- Le soi et son autre : individualité biologique, greffes et symbioses(Univ. Toulouse Le Mirail, Toulouse, Jan 16, 2013)
In 2012:
- Emergence in science / L’émergence dans les sciences : Programme(Univ. Paris-Sorbonne, Paris, Dec 11, 2012)Situating Metaphysics of Science: Back to Square One (Univ. Roma 3, Rome, Nov 6, 2012)To be continued: The genidentity of physical and biological processes (with A. Guay) (Conference Individual across sciences: A revisionary metaphysics?, org. A. Guay & T. Pradeu, Paris-Sorbonne University, Paris, May 18-20, 2012)
- “Situating Metaphysics of Science: Back to Square One” (with A. Guay) (Paris, Conference on Metaphysical Knowledge, org. P. Ludwig, F. Drapeau-Contim & T. Pradeu, March 29-31, 2012)“Comment expliquer la réponse immunitaire? Une critique de la théorie du danger” (Marseille, Centre d’immunologie de Marseille Luminy, April 5, 2012)“Théories, modèles et paradigmes en biologie moléculaire : Le cas de l’immunologie” (Marseille, Ecole doctorale Sciences de la vie et de la santé, April 4, 2012)“La construction des normes de la science” (Ecole française de Rome, Rome, March 17, 2012)
In 2011:
- “Constructing the Organism” (American Philosophical Association, invited talk, Dec 29, 2011)
Présentation ENS Animal (Dec 2011)Evolution et émergence (Conférence “Emergence : enjeux du réductionnisme en philosophie des sciences“, Bordeaux, Univ. Bordeaux 3, November 10, 2011)