Resumo

VILA, Juan. Relational Animals: Heidegger’s Conception of Biological Organisms in the Grundbegriffe (1929). Crítica (Méx., D.F.) [online]. 2023, vol.55, n.165, pp.3-26.  Epub 23-Jun-2024. ISSN 0011-1503.  https://doi.org/10.22201/iifs.18704905e.2023.1461.

My aim in this paper is to provide an interpretation of Martin Heidegger’s notion of biological organisms as it appears in his 1929 courses. I will first frame the discussion within Heidegger’s interpretation of naturalism and his understanding of the relationship between philosophy and science. Then, I will analyze his interpretation of embryology and ecology through which he provides original insights to philosophy of biology, specially regarding the problem of the identity of biological organisms. Finally, I will show how this interpretation entails a profound critique of substance-oriented ontologies of the organism in favor of relational and processual conceptions.

Palavras-chave : embryology; ecology; organ; environment; naturalism.