Development and Cancer: Insights from Teleology

Lugano Philosophy Colloquia. María Cerezo

Organogenesis and cancer are two biological processes that show some similarities and differences. In this presentation, I offer an account of the teleology typical of some biological processes, paying attention to their tendency towards specific end-states. I apply this framework to organogenesis and cancer, and to some of their cell sub-processes in order to explore the sense in which those processes and sub-processes are -or are not- teleological, and to interpret their similarities and differences.