Egenis conference 2024: 8.Scott Gilbert - Thou hast taught me, Silent River, Many a lesson

“Thou hast taught me, Silent River, Many a lesson, deep and long”
With Prof Scott Gilbert (Swarthmore College, United States)
Two of John Dupre's major ideas--co-metabolism between replicating entities (Dupré and O'Malley, 2009) and a biology of flux (Nicholson and Dupré 2018)-- converge in the notion of sympoiesis. While most studies of symbiosis highlight two or more consenting adults, symbiosis also takes place during development to generate the adult. This sympoiesis is a “making-with” process, rather than autopoietic “self-formation.” In vertebrates, sympoietic microbes mature the neurons needed for hearing and peristalsis, differentiate the vasculature of the intestinal villi, help form the gut-associated lymphoid tissue, and promote the proliferation of insulin secreting beta-cells in the pancreas. Here we also see competition for making a cooperative team.