This open access book is self-standing as the only substantive anthology of writings centered on John Dupre’s work. Dupré is internationally regarded as one of the most prominent living philosophers of science. His work has had a profound impact on philosophy and biology over the last half century. From fundamental questions about classification to metaphysical debates about the nature of organisms and life, Dupre’s writings have changed how scholars look at the life sciences and the natural world. But it is not just his published output that has re-shaped the field. It is also his philosophical methodology, characterised by a naturalistic and interdisciplinary approach. In part this approach was shaped by Dupré’s interactions with natural and social scientists, an aspect of his approach to philosophy that is also reflected in his role as a co-founder and then Director of the Egenis Centre for the Study of Life Sciences. This book, edited and authored by many of the world’s leading philosophers of the life sciences provides a key text on the interdisciplinary study of the life sciences with a particular emphasis on philosophy. It is of interest to philosophers of science and forms a methodological reference point for students in this field.

Sabina Leonelli holds the Chair of Philosophy and History of Science and Technology at the Technical University of Munich, where she is also Research Director of the Ethical Data Initiative, Co-Director of the Public Science Lab and lead of the ERC Project PHIL_OS. Until 2024 she was the Director of the Exeter Centre for the Study of the Life Sciences at the University of Exeter, where she holds a Honorary Professorship. She is the president of the International Society for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology (ISHPSSB) and an elected Fellow of the Academia Europaea, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and the Académie Internationale de Philosophie de la Science. Her research concerns the role of technology and data in knowledge production, and especially how computing and digitalisation efforts are transforming research and its social dynamics and roles; and the institutionalisation of Open Science as a window on the methods, epistemology and political economy of contemporary forms of scientific inquiry, particularly in the life and environmental sciences. Her work aims to foster both understanding of these processes and strategies for interventions to support low-resourced environments as well as planetary health.

Celso Neto is an associate professor in philosophy at the University of Exeter, where he is a member of the Centre for the Study of the Life Sciences and currently leads a large project on race and genomics funded by the European Research Council. Before joining Exeter, Celso held a postdoctoral fellowship at Dalhousie University, working across the philosophy and biochemistry and molecular biology departments. His main interest lies in understanding biological classification, as well as how biases and values influence methodologies and reasoning in science, with a particular focus on evolutionary biology and its intersection with societal issues.

Stephan Guttinger is a lecturer in philosophy at the University of Exeter, UK. He is leading a 4-year project on AI in Science funded by a Leverhulme Research Leadership Award (start September 2026). He is also co-lead of the Data, Knowledge and AI research strand at the Egenis Centre for the Study of the Life Sciences and serves as the head of research for the Exeter branch of the Ethical Data Initiative, a project jointly hosted by the University of Exeter and the Technische Universität München (TUM). Stephan’s work focuses on knowledge production in the biological laboratory, with a particular focus on issues such as experimental control, reproducibility, and the increasing use of AI-driven automation.