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John Dupre Early life
Dupre received his Ph.D at Cambridge in 1981, He was then a Junior Research Fellow at St. John’s College, Oxford, for two years before taking up a post in the Department of Philosophy at Stanford University, where he taught until 1996. He then returned back to London to continue his teaching career at Exeter where the Philosophy program was non existent. He continued at Exeter to help rebuild the program until he was promoted to professor of Philosophy of Science. -
The Disorder of Things: Metaphysical Foundations of the Disunity of Science
In this book it talks about pluralistic metaphysics, and argues that it it is much better suited for understanding contemporary science, especially biology, than is the monistic physicalism assumed by most philosophers of science. This book helped build the background for extended critical discussion of evolutionary psychology and rational choice theory in Human Nature and the Limits of Science, in which it also insisted the necessity of a pluralistic understanding of human nature. -
Dupres' dedication to the Life Sciences
In 2002, Dupre assumed the full-time directorship of Egenis, the ESRC Centre for Genomics in Society. In this position it allowed him to lead in areas of the highest international standard of nature, historical precedents, and philosophical, social and scientific implications of developments in contemporary biosciences. Also covering the cognitive, biomedical and agricultural sciences, interested all of the life sciences', as well as epistemic repercussions. -
A Process Ontology for Contemporary Biology
From 2013 to 2018, Dupre was working on A project called: A Process Ontology for Contemporary Biology. This project aimed to articulate a process-centered ontology that Dupre would argue is better suited to understanding the biological and biomedical sciences than traditional thing- or substance-based ontologies. The key output of this project was the book, co-edited with Daniel Nicholson, Everything Flows: Towards a Processual Philosophy of Biology. -
John Dupre current works
Dupres' most recent research project is Representing Biology as Process, a collaboration between Dupre, Artist Gemma Anderson, and Cell Biologist James Wakefield. A book, co-edited with Anderson, is in press with Intellect Press, and will appear in 2023. Dupre also continues to work on the implications of a process ontology for our understanding of human existence. The results of this research will be presented as the Gifford Lectures in Edinburgh in 2023.