From October 10–12, at the University of Toronto, a workshop marked 40 years since the publication of The Dialectical Biologist (1985) by Richard Levins and Richard Lewontin. The book, a collection of their earlier papers, aimed to present a coherent vision of how Marxian dialectics can inform biological theory. It stands alongside other critical works, such as Not in Our Genes (1984) and Biology under the Influence (2007).
Although initially dismissed as ideological and scientifically flawed, the book’s influence persists in shaping contemporary debates. Recent calls for an agential perspective in evolutionary theory—such as Denis Walsh’s Organisms, Agency and Evolution (2015) and Sonia Sultan’s framework of organism–environment co-determination in Organism and Environment (2015)—illustrate how Levins and Lewontin’s ideas continue to resonate.
Against this backdrop, participants were invited to reassess the legacy of dialectical biology and its relevance for current biological theory. We report on these discussions by grouping them around the core themes emphasized over the three days:
Organisms as Co-Constructors of Their Environment
Sonia Sultan presented some of her work on how environmental conditions actively shape development, explaining how different genes are expressed depending on context (a phenomenon now widely known as “phenotypic plasticity”). Adaptive responses are co-determined by genes and environment, and multicellularity itself may have arisen as a response to ecological factors. Such a view blurs the traditional boundaries between internal and external factors in evolution, stressing how traits emerge from continuous organism–environment interaction.
Cells as Active Agents
Ana Soto and Carlos Sonnenschein presented their long-standing idea that the “default state” of cells is proliferation, accompanied by variation and motility—a principle they liken to inertia in physics. From this perspective, diseases such as cancer do not arise from rogue “cancer cells” but from disruptions in tissue organization. Their tissue organization field theory emphasizes the stability and relational structure of cell collectives, framing cancer as a phenomenon in which the “society of cells” loses its coordinated organization.
Philosophy, Biology, and Dialectics
Elliott Sober, Rasmus Winther, Christopher Shambaugh, and Jonathan Basile explored the broader theoretical legacy of Lewontin’s work. Sober emphasized Lewontin’s critiques of reductionism, genetic determinism, and race, showing how his thinking bridged philosophy and evolutionary biology. Winther described an “oceanic” philosophy of nature inspired by Lewontin, focused on ecological embeddedness and the dynamic tensions between organism and environment. Shambaugh highlighted the role of dialectical biology in critiquing scientific ideologies and reconnecting gene, organism, and environment, tracing its roots to Hegel and Marxist thought. Basile focused on Lewontin’s challenge to genetic reductionism and his emphasis on the “norm of reaction” as a framework for understanding how traits develop through complex gene–environment interactions.
Organisms as Agents in Evolution
Denis Walsh and Stewart Newman illustrated how Lewontin’s insights reshape our understanding of evolution. Walsh emphasized that organisms are ecological agents, whose repertoire of behaviors co-constructs the environment they inhabit. Newman showed that multicellular forms and functions emerge not only from slow adaptation but also from inherent cellular and material properties, allowing organisms to actively shape their niches.
Scientific Modeling and Dialectical Synthesis
Alejandro Fábregas-Tejeda revisited Levins and Lewontin’s approaches to scientific modeling, showing how their collaborative work contained distinct ideas about representation and theorizing. Rebecca Riccardo Cucciniello and Andrea Gambarotto explored a synthesis of Lewontin’s dialectical biology with that of Francisco Varela, combining interaction-focused and organization-focused perspectives for a fuller understanding of organisms as self-maintaining, environmentally embedded wholes.
Active Matter, Form, and Autonomy
Fermín Fulda addressed the philosophical roots of dialectical biology, connecting Marxian dialectical materialism with Aristotelian hylomorphism. He distinguished between active matter, which organizes itself, and formal principles, which account for purposive and normative aspects of life. This dialogue between material and formal perspectives deepens our understanding of agency, autonomy, and organization in living systems.
Dialectical Biology Today
Lively and thought-provoking, the workshop demonstrated how Lewontin’s dialectical biology remains profoundly relevant. Across multiple scales—from cells to ecosystems—dialectical biology emphasizes agency, reciprocal determination, and the deep entanglement of organisms with their environments. Without acknowledging this entanglement, evolutionary innovations, developmental processes, and ecological interactions cannot be fully understood for what they are and how they work. Thus, Lewontin’s legacy reminds us that organisms are subjects in their own evolution and that science is never entirely separate from society.
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