Austin Booth, Ph.D. (ostngb@gmail.com)


ostngb@gmail.com
austin.booth@dal.ca

Department of Philosophy
Dalhousie University
6135 University Avenue
PO Box 15000


I am currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at Dalhousie University, cross-listed in the Department of Philosophy and the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology. I recently completed my Ph.D. in philosophy at Harvard University. My primary research area is the philosophy of biology, with a particular focus on evolutionary biology. You can view my C.V. here.

PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS

"The Modern Synthesis in the Light of Microbial Genomics." (Co-authored with Ford Doolittle and Carlos Mariscal.) Forthcoming in Annual Review of Microbiology.

"Reply to Lane and Martin: Being and Becoming Eukaryotes." (Co-authored with Ford Doolittle). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2015. Epub ahead of print.

"Eukaryogenesis, How Special Really?" (Co-authored with Ford Doolittle). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2015. Epub ahead of print.

“Populations and Individuals in Heterokaryotic Fungi: A Multilevel Perspective.” Philosophy of Science 81 (2014): 612–32.

“Symbiosis, Selection, and Individuality.” Biology & Philosophy 29 (2014): 657–73.


WORK IN PROGRESS

Review of Philosophy of Microbiology, by Maureen O’Malley. For publication in Biology & Philosophy.

"The Evolution of Symbiotic Integration in Prokaryotes." (Co-authored with Tom Williams.) (Draft title).

“Holobionts and their Evolution.” (Co-authored with Derek Skillings.) (Draft title.)


TEACHING

As instructor:

  • Philosophy of Biology, Fall 2015, Dalhousie University
  • Tutorial: What is Life?, Spring 2012, Harvard University
  • Tutorial: The Metaphysics of Properties, Spring 2011, Harvard University

As teaching fellow:

  • Philosophy of Science, Peter Godfrey-Smith, Spring 2011, Harvard University
  • British Empiricism, Alison Simmons, Fall 2010, Harvard University
  • Philosophy of the Exact Sciences: Aristotle to Newton, Peter Koellner, Spring 2010, Harvard University
  • Philosophy of Biology, Peter Godfrey-Smith, Fall 2009, Harvard University

As teaching assistant:

  • Philosophy of Mind and the Brain Sciences, Rosa Cao and Justin Junge, Summer 2012, Harvard University


PRESENTATIONS

  • "Are There Multilineage Prokaryotic Organisms?", Centre for Genomics and Evolutionary Bioinformatics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, January 2016
  • "Ontology and Microbial Evolution", Philosophy Department Colloquium, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, December 2015
  • "The Evolution of Symbiotic Integration in Prokaryotes", Symbiosis Workshop, University of Exeter, England, November 2015
  • "The Return of the Interactor", ISHPSSB Conference, Montreal, Canada, July 2015
  • "The Evolution by Merger of Multilineage Prokaryotic Consortia", Organismality in St. Louis Workshop, Washington University, St. Louis, May 2015
  • "Biological Individuality and the Philosophy of Nature", Philosophy Department Colloquium, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, March 2015
  • "Eukaryogenesis: How Special, Really?", Centre for Genomics and Evolutionary Bioinformatics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, January 2015
  • “Evolution and the Individuality of Fungi and Holobionts”, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, April 2014
  • “On the Status of the Debate About Biological Individuality”, ISHPSSB Conference, Montpellier, France, July 2013
  • “Fungal Populations and Individuals: A Multilevel Perspective”, Mycological Society of America Meeting, University of Alaska Fairbanks, August 2011
  • “New Work for a Theory of Individuals”, ISHPSSB Conference, University of Utah, July 2011
  • “Fungal Populations and Individuals: A Multilevel Perspective”, Pringle Lab Meeting, Harvard University, April 2011
  •  “Symbiosis, Selection, and Individuality”, Philosophy of Biology at Dolphin Beach 4, Moruya Heads, Australia, August 2010