Ant Colonies as Biological Individuals
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18270/rcfc.v23i47.4123Keywords:
ants, colony, individuality, individual, individuation, functional, evolutionaryAbstract
In this paper, I address a specific case of the classic problem of individuation in the philosophy of biology: that of insect colonies, and in particular, ant colonies. The individual character of a group of ants forming a colony can be a subject of controversy, as, from an intuitive standpoint, it does not seem to constitute an individual. My goal is to demonstrate that ant colonies are biological individuals. To do so, I focus on two of the most studied types of individuals in the philosophy of biology: functional and evolutionary, and I examine whether ant colonies meet the necessary conditions to be considered individuals in these terms.
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