Jesse Mulder wins Royal Institute of Philosophy essay prize
(Philosophy) has won the annual Prize Essay Competition of . His essay will appear in the April issue of the journal Philosophy, which is published quarterly by the Cambridge 木瓜福利影视 Press. The topic for this year's competition was 'Do Life and Living Forms present a problem for materialism?'
life, living forms, and materialism
Old style vitalism, attributing an internal animating substance or force to living things gave way to the idea that life may yet be a property over and above physical and chemical ones. Subsequent to that it was widely thought that life is an organisational or functional feature of bodies instantiated by their physical properties. With ongoing debates about analogous issues relating to mind (especially consciousness and intentionality) still running, and renewed interest in anti-reductionist interpretations of emergence and of teleological description and explanation the question is posed: do life forms present a problem for materialism?
The institute
The Royal Institute of Philosophy is a charity dedicated to the advancement of philosophy in all its branches through the organisation and promotion of teaching, discussion and research of all things philosophical. The Institute is not committed to any particular philosophical school or method or, of course, any ideology.