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Matthew Sims

@philosobio.bsky.social

400 followers 330 following 32 posts

Research Associate at the University of Cambridge LCFI, working on the project Major Transitions in Cognitive Evolution. Philosophy of Biology/Cognitive Science: phenotypic plasticity, learning, memory, niche construction, evolvability, agency, sci-methods

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Matthew Sims @philosobio.bsky.social · Feb 12

Although I was not given funding to publish this OA, if anyone (or any one that you know) would like a pdf of the book, shoot me a message. I'd be more than happy to send it your way. www.cambridge.org/core/element...

Slime Mould and Philosophy

Cambridge Core - Philosophy: General Interest - Slime Mould and Philosophy

www.cambridge.org

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Matthew Sims @philosobio.bsky.social · 1d

Microbe with bizarrely tiny genome may be evolving into a virus | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

Microbe with bizarrely tiny genome may be evolving into a virus

With DNA focused almost entirely on replication, newly discovered organism blurs the line between cells and viruses

www.science.org

Reposted by Matthew Sims

Daniel J Nicholson @djnicholson.bsky.social · 3d

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

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

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

www.cambridge.org

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Reposted by Matthew Sims

Alejandro Fábregas-Tejeda @alejandrofabregastejeda.com · Jul 18

“Traits” are central units of biological analysis—but how should they be individuated, and relative to which ontogenetic frame of reference? In my new paper, I argue that answering this isn’t easy—and matters more than it seems. 📃👇 link.springer.com/article/10.1... #philsci #HPBio #evosky #evodevo

Screenshot of a journal article titled "Two ontogenetic challenges to trait individuation" by Alejandro Fábregas-Tejeda, published in Synthese (2025) 205:219. The abstract reads: "Trait individuation is an epistemically indispensable and heuristically fruitful practice in biological science. However, important ontological issues transcend an epistemology-only reading of what trait individuation entails (e.g., adaptation and homology), prompting scholars to advance models and frameworks to grapple with this problem. Here, I articulate two challenges that arise when advancing theories and frameworks to tackle trait individuation: the synchronicity and the diachronicity challenges. The synchronicity challenge involves specifying the traits an organism has at a given moment in ontogeny, whereas the diachronicity challenge involves understanding the causal processes that drive trait individuation in development and tracing these units across time. To delve deeper, I introduce extant functionalist and structuralist perspectives on trait individuation and evaluate how they address both challenges. Overcoming these challenges is necessary for such accounts to fulfill their theoretical promise of individuating the traits that organisms have in an ontologically sound way."

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Reposted by Matthew Sims

ROTO Research Group @roto-rub.bsky.social · Sep 10

New semester, new lecture series 🎉Starting next month, we welcome amazing scholars to give online talks in the history and philosophy of life sciences. Find all dates and registration links here: rotorub.wordpress.com/roto-lecture...
We look forward to seeing you there 🤗
#PhilSci #HistSci #HPBio

Overview of the ROTO Lecture Series in the winter semester 2025/2026.

The talks will be:
- "Race Reification and Population Descriptors in Human Genomics" by Celso Neto (University of Exeter)
- "Understanding plant holobionts through complexity science" by César Marín (Universidad Santo Tomás)
- "What is Dialectical Biology?" by Chris Shambaugh (University of Oregon)
- "Learning from Partial Overlaps Between Knowledge Systems" by Charbel El-Hani (Federal University of Bahia)
- "21st century eugenics, scientific racism and the role of academia in promoting political ideology" by Rebecca Sear (Brunel University London)
- "The Organism and the System: Boundary Crossings in 20th Century Science" by Libby O’Neil (Mississippi State University)

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Matthew Sims @philosobio.bsky.social · Sep 1

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Matthew Sims @philosobio.bsky.social · Sep 1

A few photo moments from the Shanghai and Beijing SAPoLSN 'Cognition Across the Tree of Life' graduate summer school and workshop. Highlights: engaging with extremely sharp students; getting to know some of the other instructors; seeing old friends; Chinese culture; and Shanghainese food!

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Matthew Sims @philosobio.bsky.social · Sep 1

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Reposted by Matthew Sims

ROTO Research Group @roto-rub.bsky.social · Sep 1

Very happy to get this in the mail today! Looks nice! 😀📖
#philsci #HPS #hpbio

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Reposted by Matthew Sims

Dr. Davey F. Wright ⛏️🦕🧬 @daveyfwright.bsky.social · Aug 28

"Elisabeth S. Vrba, the “Three Musketeers,” and the Expansion of Macroevolutionary Theory"

Elisabeth S. Vrba, the “Three Musketeers,” and the Expansion of Macroevolutionary Theory - Journal of the History of Biology

Elisabeth S. Vrba (1942–2025) was an important figure in paleobiology and evolutionary theory, leaving an indelible mark on macroevolutionary research. Vrba’s collaboration with Stephen Jay Gould led ...

link.springer.com

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Matthew Sims @philosobio.bsky.social · Aug 2

Hi Sam, thanks for sharing! This is some interesting convergence aeon.co/essays/what-...

What can slime mould teach us about biological memory? | Aeon Essays

Certain slime moulds can make decisions, solve mazes and remember things. What can we learn from the blob?

aeon.co

Reposted by Matthew Sims

Sam Gershman @gershbrain.bsky.social · Jul 30

A wonderful article on work (both old and new) pushing the frontier of memory research.

Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · Jul 30

If you’ve ever tried to cram for an exam, you know that it’s easier to memorize something if you learn the information in shorter, spaced-out sessions. These dynamics are as relevant to each individual cell’s existence as they are to ours. Claire Evans reports: www.quantamagazine.org/what-can-a-c...

What Can a Cell Remember? | Quanta Magazine

A small but enthusiastic group of neuroscientists is exhuming overlooked experiments and performing new ones to explore whether cells record past experiences — fundamentally challenging what memory is...

www.quantamagazine.org

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Matthew Sims @philosobio.bsky.social · Jul 21

Here's your chance to download not only my book 'Slime Mould and Philosophy' , but download ALL the books in Cambridge Elements Philosophy of Biology series from the 20th to the 25th of July for FREE! I highly recommend Jan Baedke's (2025) book 'The Organism'.
cup.org/4kEgivL
#ISHPSSB #philosophy

Philosophy of Biology

Welcome to Cambridge Core

cup.org

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Matthew Sims @philosobio.bsky.social · Jul 19

This year's BSPS at the University of Glasgow was grand. I had a wonderful time with Jordan Theriault; @davidcolaco.bsky.social‬; ‪@phaueis.bsky.social‬; and Patrick McGivern at our symposium (serious Phil of sci pic). @martahalina.bsky.social‬ was missed by all. Up next - the ISH in Porto.

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Matthew Sims @philosobio.bsky.social · Jul 11

aeon.co/essays/what-...

What can slime mould teach us about biological memory? | Aeon Essays

Certain slime moulds can make decisions, solve mazes and remember things. What can we learn from the blob?

aeon.co

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Matthew Sims @philosobio.bsky.social · Jun 21

More on C.H. Waddington at the KLI.

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Matthew Sims @philosobio.bsky.social · Jun 21

More documentation of the wonderful talks at the 43rd Annual Altenberg Workshop at Konrad Lorenz Institute this last week.

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Matthew Sims @philosobio.bsky.social · Jun 19

More theoretical biology and C.H. Waddington at the KLI. More to come.

Matthew Sims @philosobio.bsky.social · Jun 19

Theoretical biology at the KLI.

Reposted by Matthew Sims

Vera Straetmanns @yavannakemi.bsky.social · Jun 13

#HistBio and #HistMed people: You can still send your abstracts for FoGeL 2025! 🐋🌱

Vera Straetmanns @yavannakemi.bsky.social · May 23

🌱 Call for Contributions – FoGeL 2025: Plant-based 🌿
📍 Dresden | 🗓️ Sept 23, 2025
One day before the annual meeting of the @gwmt.bsky.social, we're looking at #plants in the history of the life sciences
Submit your idea by June 15 to vera.straetmanns[at]rub.de - in German or English.
#HistSci #HPBio

Poster for FoGeL 2025, saying: "FoGel 2025 - Plant-based
23. SEPTEMBER 2025 / DRESDEN
BEITRAGSVORSCHLÄGE BIS 15. JUNI 2025 AN:
VERA.STRAETMANNS@RUB.DE"

Explanation about FoGeL 2025:
"Im Vorfeld der diesjährigen Tagung der GWMT in Dresden
findet am 23.9.2025 erneut das Forum Geschichte der
Lebenswissenschaften (FoGeL) statt.
In diesem Jahr wollen wir bewusst einen Kontrapunkt zum
tierzentrierten Thema der Haupttagung setzen – aus der
pflanzlichen Perspektive.
Was passiert, wenn wir die Geschichte der
Lebenswissenschaften plant-based denken? Welche
Rolle spielten und spielen Pflanzen – als
Erkenntnisobjekte, als Modellorganismen, als
Gegenstände technischer Aneignung oder ästhetischer
Projektionen? Welche historischen Akteur*innen,
Praktiken, Orte, Bilder oder Konzepte rücken durch diese
Perspektive ins Zentrum?
Wir suchen Beiträge (ca. 10 Minuten), die aus laufenden
Projekten heraus eine Frage aufwerfen oder einen Aspekt
zur Diskussion stellen. Besonders willkommen sind
experimentelle Formate, unfertige Gedanken,
methodische Herausforderungen oder knifflige
Quellenfunde – all das, was im klassischen Vortrag oft
keinen Platz findet.
Bewerbungen (max. 200 Wörter Abstract + 1–2 Sätze zur
eigenen Person) bitte bis 15. Juni 2025 an
vera.straetmanns@rub.de."

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Matthew Sims @philosobio.bsky.social · Jun 12

Highly recommend!

ROTO Research Group @roto-rub.bsky.social · Jun 11

Out now (print and open access!):
Jan Baedke’s Element on “The Organism” at
@cambridgeup.bsky.social .
It discusses philosophical, historical and social dimensions of the organism concept.
www.cambridge.org/core/element...
#philsci #philsky #HPS #hpbio #histsci

Reposted by Matthew Sims

Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · Apr 28

Upcoming Boston Colloquium for Philosophy of Science: Decentering the Human in Human Sciences on Friday, May 2nd and Saturday, May 3rd. Free and open to the public. Speakers include @martahalina.bsky.social & @grantramsey.bsky.social #philsci
www.bu.edu/cphs/colloqu...

Poster for event with 9 photos of speakers in circles. Conference details and link:
Schedule
Friday, May 2nd
All events to take place at the Metcalf Science Center, Room 117
590 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, MA 02215

9:30-10:00 a.m.
Breakfast, Welcome and Opening Remarks, Rachell Powell (Boston University)

10:15-11:30 a.m.
“Mirror, Mirror, Off the Wall: Rethinking Human Intuitive Physics Through Animals,” Marta Halina (University of Cambridge)

11:45-1:00 p.m.
“Dehumanizing the Mind-Body Problem,” Carrie Figdor (University of Iowa)

1:00-2:30 p.m. Lunch

2:30-3:45 p.m.
“Why error is more interesting than success and failure for comparative psychology,” Aliya Rumana (University of Pittsburgh)

4:00-5:15 p.m.
“Decentering the Human in Medical Science: A Cautionary Tale of Two Concepts,” Rachell Powell (Boston University)

6:30 p.m. Conference dinner

Saturday, May 3rd

9:30-10:00 a.m.
Breakfast, Welcome and Opening Remarks, Rachell Powell (Boston University)

10:15-11:30 a.m.
“Can we go against human nature?,” Grant Ramsey (KU Leuven)

11:45-1:00 p.m.
“Cooperation, Cognition, and the Elusive Role of Joint Agency,” Patrick Forber (Tufts University)

1:00 p.m. Lunch

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Reposted by Matthew Sims

ROTO Research Group @roto-rub.bsky.social · Apr 23

Join us Monday at 4pm (CET) for our next Reading Group session! 📖🧠
We’ll be discussing "Biological Mistakes: What They Are and What They Mean for the Experimental Biologist" by David Oderberg et al., published in @thebjps.bsky.social.
Just email jan.baedke[at]rub.de for the meeting details!
#HPBio

Title and abstract of the paper "Biological Mistakes: What They Are and What They Mean for the Experimental Biologist" by David S. Oderberg, Jonathan Hill, Christopher Austin, Ingo Bojak, François Cinotti and Jonathan M. Gibbins. Find the paper here: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/724444

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Matthew Sims @philosobio.bsky.social · Mar 31

www.technologyreview.com/2025/03/27/1...

Anthropic can now track the bizarre inner workings of a large language model

What the firm found challenges some basic assumptions about how this technology really works.