Call for papers

Call For Papers, HOPOS—The Journal of the International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science, Special Issue

“François Jacob and the History of Biology: Interdisciplinary Essays on The Logic of Life”

Advisory Editors

Pierre-Olivier Méthot (Laval University)
Florence Vienne (Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Ernst-Haeckel-Haus)

The Logic of Life: A History of Heredity (1970) by François Jacob, co-winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on gene expression (1965), challenged older accounts of the history of biology. Tracing the ideas about heredity and reproduction from the 16^th up to the 20^th century, Jacob considers advances in the life sciences to be the result of the emergence of new “objects”. The book was a public success from its inception: it was not only discussed in the press by intellectual figures such as Michel Foucault, Georges Canguilhem and Jacques Derrida, but also published in translation in several European and South American countries as well in the United States, the USSR, Japan, Israel, and China. Considering the above, the dearth of critical and cross-disciplinary analyses of The Logic of Life these past fifty years comes as a surprise. This special issue aims to fill this gap. We particularly seek articles to shed new light on the scientific, political, and intellectual context of the book as well as on its reception within and outside of Europe. We also invite scholars to examine the topicality of The Logic of Life in the light of contemporary debates in biology, philosophy, and the history of the life sciences and humanities.

Details and Submission:

• Word limit: 7,000 words (including references).
• Deadline for abstract submissions: December 15^th
• Deadline for paper submissions: August 31^st 2022
• To submit: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/journals/hopos/instructExternal link
• The article submission system is here: https://www.editorialmanager.com/hopos/External link
• Please choose "Logic of Life" under "Article Type" when submitting to the special issue.

To read the latest issue of HOPOS: The Journal of the International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science, click here: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/toc/hopos/2021/11/2

A free sample issue can be found here: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/toc/hopos/2017/7/1External link  

If you have questions about the Special Issue, please write to hoposjournal@gmail.com.