Defining "Development"

Thomas Pradeu (1) , Lucie Laplane (2) , Karine Prévot (3) , Thierry Hoquet (4) , Valentine Reynaud (5) , Giuseppe Fusco (6) , Alessandro Minelli (6) , Virginie Orgogozo (7) , Michel Vervoort (7)

1 ImmunoConcept - Immunology from Concept and Experiments to Translation
2 IHPST - Institut d'Histoire et de Philosophie des Sciences et des Techniques
3 IRePh - Institut de Recherches Philosophiques
4 UJML3 Philo - Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3 - Faculté de Philosophie
5 IRPhiL - Institut de recherches philosophiques de Lyon
6 Department of Biology
7 IJM (UMR_7592) - Institut Jacques Monod

Is it possible, and in the first place is it even desirable, to define what "development" means and to determine the scope of the field called "developmental biology"? Though these questions appeared crucial for the founders of "developmental biology" in the 1950s, there seems to be no consensus today about the need to address them. Here, in a combined biological, philosophical, and historical approach, we ask whether it is possible and useful to define biological development, and, if such a definition is indeed possible and useful, which definition(s) can be considered as the most satisfactory.

Mots clés: Scientific discipline; Definition; Embryology; Development; Developmental biology

Domaines: Biologie du développement; Histoire, Philosophie et Sociologie des sciences

Thomas Pradeu, Lucie Laplane, Karine Prévot, Thierry Hoquet, Valentine Reynaud, et al.. Defining "Development". Current Topics in Developmental Biology, 2016, 117, pp.171-183. ⟨10.1016/bs.ctdb.2015.10.012⟩. ⟨hal-01745630⟩