Possible Life: The Philosophical Significance of Extending Biology

How is biology being extended beyond life on Earth and what is the philosophical significance of this? The EU-funded LIFEMODE project will answer these questions using an approach that puts scientific practice into a dialogue with the philosophy of science and naturalistic metaphysics. It will examine the emerging fields of synthetic biology and astrobiology, focussing on the themes of unnatural biochemical bases and organisational principles of life, synthetic life, evolutionary possibilities and constraints, and the habitability of exoplanets. The overall aim of LIFEMODE is to further our understanding of the metaphysical dimension of science, drawing upon and developing diverse strands in theorising using philosophy of science and metaphysics concepts.