A study on jacques Monod's philosophy of biology

The goal of this study is to examine Jacques Monod's philosophy of biology, which is based on the postulate that nature is objective and on his criticism of the traditional views of vitalism and animism. As is also the case in other natural sciences and philosophies, Monod argues that animalistic and vitalistic approaches are insufficient to construct a biology or a philosophy of biology. In light of this, Monod criticizes animism and vitalism and, rather, develops a philosophy of biology on the postulate that nature is objective. Furthermore, armed with this postulate Monod not only establishes an ethics-based epistemology but also provides an epistemological justification of ethics. This framework enables Monod to argue that existing problems in other fields cannot be addressed or, alternatively, that existing problems are in fact not problems at all—in which context he also draws a distinction between what science says and what is understood from what science says. In accordance with this goal, the first part of the study analyzes the history of biology before Monod and examines the general background of the idea advanced by him. Various theories of life have been proposed in the history of biology before the 20th century. The second part of the study analyzes the criticisms advanced by Monod as well as the conceptual framework he develops in light of this critique. This part of the study moreover examines the relation that prevails between coincidence and necessity in terms of the macro and micro systems distinguished by Monod. The third part compares Monod's conceptual framework with several theories in modern biology as well as the contemporary philosophy of biology. Next, it provides a discussion of whether Monod himself overcame the dualism often encountered in the philosophy of biology—especially in the context of Addy Pros' physicochemical-based biology, Ernst Mayr's organic holism, and Susan Blackmore's memetic theory. The final part of the study examines Monod's ethics-based epistemology, his thoughts on the epistemological foundation of ethics, and his contributions to the contemporary philosophy of biology.