Lynn Chiu
@drlynnchiu.bsky.social
Recovering philosopher staying with the trouble. PhD #philbio. Worked on niche construction, holobiont, gut mind, co-immunity, EES. Now curating & communicating research @univie.ac.at as Intl Sci Comm manager + #Rudolphina editor. #Philscicomm #scicomm
Here's a lovely spread of Riedl's books!
November 22, 2025 at 12:11 PM
Here's a lovely spread of Riedl's books!
Going to stop the live report as the following talks will elaborate more on specific concepts and influences in contemporary EvoBio.
November 22, 2025 at 10:11 AM
Going to stop the live report as the following talks will elaborate more on specific concepts and influences in contemporary EvoBio.
Conclusion:
Points of disagreement: Riedl's articulation of laws and verification and truth. Also no talk about ecological interactions.
Legacy still important in morphology. Including his main lesson: Morphology is the heart of organismic biology.
/End
Points of disagreement: Riedl's articulation of laws and verification and truth. Also no talk about ecological interactions.
Legacy still important in morphology. Including his main lesson: Morphology is the heart of organismic biology.
/End
November 22, 2025 at 9:19 AM
Conclusion:
Points of disagreement: Riedl's articulation of laws and verification and truth. Also no talk about ecological interactions.
Legacy still important in morphology. Including his main lesson: Morphology is the heart of organismic biology.
/End
Points of disagreement: Riedl's articulation of laws and verification and truth. Also no talk about ecological interactions.
Legacy still important in morphology. Including his main lesson: Morphology is the heart of organismic biology.
/End
Second talk: bsky.app/profile/drly...
"And then came Rupert Riedl, who presented morphology as a systems science capable of formulating laws and intimately intertwined with epistemology. An almost audible sigh of relief from the beleaguered community of morphologists accompanied the reading of [his book]" (eng translation, Schmitt 2007)
November 22, 2025 at 9:17 AM
Second talk: bsky.app/profile/drly...
Schmitt is critical, however, if even here Riedl succeeded.
Yet some of his concepts are useful: burden, interphenes/metaphenes, cardre vs minimal homologues, homology criterion. Remarkable legacy on explanatory concepts: constraint, morphospace, evo morphology. And morphology as "way of thinking".
Yet some of his concepts are useful: burden, interphenes/metaphenes, cardre vs minimal homologues, homology criterion. Remarkable legacy on explanatory concepts: constraint, morphospace, evo morphology. And morphology as "way of thinking".
November 22, 2025 at 9:16 AM
Schmitt is critical, however, if even here Riedl succeeded.
Yet some of his concepts are useful: burden, interphenes/metaphenes, cardre vs minimal homologues, homology criterion. Remarkable legacy on explanatory concepts: constraint, morphospace, evo morphology. And morphology as "way of thinking".
Yet some of his concepts are useful: burden, interphenes/metaphenes, cardre vs minimal homologues, homology criterion. Remarkable legacy on explanatory concepts: constraint, morphospace, evo morphology. And morphology as "way of thinking".
What did Riedl do for morphology instead? Everywhere, Riedl was talking about LAWS. Explanatory laws, like the laws of physics. He was focused on the explanatory laws of morphological evolution.
November 22, 2025 at 9:04 AM
What did Riedl do for morphology instead? Everywhere, Riedl was talking about LAWS. Explanatory laws, like the laws of physics. He was focused on the explanatory laws of morphological evolution.
"Why are we talking about Riedl when he... didn't seem to make a substantial discovery or develop a new technique in morphology?" - Schmitt
November 22, 2025 at 8:57 AM
"Why are we talking about Riedl when he... didn't seem to make a substantial discovery or develop a new technique in morphology?" - Schmitt
This was a very interesting quote pointed out to me by Mihaela Pavlicev during our interview for the Riedl article for the #Rudolphina magazine. The author of the quote, Michael Schmitt, is now up to talk about Riedl.
November 22, 2025 at 8:55 AM
This was a very interesting quote pointed out to me by Mihaela Pavlicev during our interview for the Riedl article for the #Rudolphina magazine. The author of the quote, Michael Schmitt, is now up to talk about Riedl.
First talk: bsky.app/profile/drly...
Günter Wagner started the symposium talking about Riedl & the importance of "an intimate feel of the organism" for theory and philbio... and (to me) the golden period of evolution I was raised on by my mentors: the beginning of critical reflections on Darwinism in the 70s and 80s.
November 22, 2025 at 8:29 AM
First talk: bsky.app/profile/drly...
After talking about how Riedl's work influenced him through his network of mentors and colleagues, Wagner concludes the first talk of the Riedl 100 symposium. /end
November 22, 2025 at 8:28 AM
After talking about how Riedl's work influenced him through his network of mentors and colleagues, Wagner concludes the first talk of the Riedl 100 symposium. /end
Wagner: Here's an original thought from Riedl, still underexplored and highly controversial "are body plans structured so that they ensure evolvability?"
Are the ordered hierarchy of modules set up in ways that max evolvability?!?!
Are the ordered hierarchy of modules set up in ways that max evolvability?!?!
November 22, 2025 at 8:25 AM
Wagner: Here's an original thought from Riedl, still underexplored and highly controversial "are body plans structured so that they ensure evolvability?"
Are the ordered hierarchy of modules set up in ways that max evolvability?!?!
Are the ordered hierarchy of modules set up in ways that max evolvability?!?!
Wagner: only historians of science can professionally assess his actual impact.
But here are 2 broad themes:
(1) Macroevo/homology/body plans
-> impact of devo on evo & in the context of the whole organism
(2) Evolvability & the evo of evolvability -> variation is not random
But here are 2 broad themes:
(1) Macroevo/homology/body plans
-> impact of devo on evo & in the context of the whole organism
(2) Evolvability & the evo of evolvability -> variation is not random
November 22, 2025 at 8:22 AM
Wagner: only historians of science can professionally assess his actual impact.
But here are 2 broad themes:
(1) Macroevo/homology/body plans
-> impact of devo on evo & in the context of the whole organism
(2) Evolvability & the evo of evolvability -> variation is not random
But here are 2 broad themes:
(1) Macroevo/homology/body plans
-> impact of devo on evo & in the context of the whole organism
(2) Evolvability & the evo of evolvability -> variation is not random
So what did Riedl contribute to the Modern synthesis Yay/nay debate? Wagner: let's hear from Gould and Lewontin themselves about the European biologists and specifically, Riedl.
"The adaptationist programme gave us an EvoBio of parts and genes, but not of organisms"
"The adaptationist programme gave us an EvoBio of parts and genes, but not of organisms"
November 22, 2025 at 8:18 AM
So what did Riedl contribute to the Modern synthesis Yay/nay debate? Wagner: let's hear from Gould and Lewontin themselves about the European biologists and specifically, Riedl.
"The adaptationist programme gave us an EvoBio of parts and genes, but not of organisms"
"The adaptationist programme gave us an EvoBio of parts and genes, but not of organisms"
(all this history is making me mad nostalgic for the wonderful studies and discussions I had in the early 2000s)
November 22, 2025 at 8:08 AM
(all this history is making me mad nostalgic for the wonderful studies and discussions I had in the early 2000s)
That background, esp the start of evodevo, frames the general context of Riedl's own skepticism.
Now we enter the adaptationist's "but proximate != ultimate causation!!" strike back.
Now we enter the adaptationist's "but proximate != ultimate causation!!" strike back.
November 22, 2025 at 8:07 AM
That background, esp the start of evodevo, frames the general context of Riedl's own skepticism.
Now we enter the adaptationist's "but proximate != ultimate causation!!" strike back.
Now we enter the adaptationist's "but proximate != ultimate causation!!" strike back.
Already saw one finished!
November 21, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Already saw one finished!
It is so important to recognize that he came from a family of artists and always emphasized the importance of aesthetics, said Sabina Riedl today!
November 21, 2025 at 9:33 PM
It is so important to recognize that he came from a family of artists and always emphasized the importance of aesthetics, said Sabina Riedl today!
Talking about the equipment they scraped together from the black market to start their "expeditions" when he was a student. Riedl the daring. They invented their own diving fins but it unfortunately didn't take off.
November 21, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Talking about the equipment they scraped together from the black market to start their "expeditions" when he was a student. Riedl the daring. They invented their own diving fins but it unfortunately didn't take off.
Reposted by Lynn Chiu
Wonderful! I am a huge admirer of Rupert Riedl’s writings. bsky.app/profile/mrag...
November 21, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Wonderful! I am a huge admirer of Rupert Riedl’s writings. bsky.app/profile/mrag...