Dr Ellen Clarke
- Position: Associate Professor
- Areas of expertise: Philosophy of Biology; Philosophy of Science; Feminist philosophy; Evolutionary theory; Cultural Evolution Theory, Environmental Ethics
- Email: E.Clarke@leeds.ac.uk
- Phone: +44(0)113 343 0246
- Location: G20 Michael Sadler
- Website: Philosomama | Bluesky | Googlescholar | ORCID | Open Access REF
Profile
I did my undergraduate studies at Leeds, in Philosophy, before going on to Bristol to take an MA in Philosophy and History of Science. I stayed on at Bristol to take my PhD with Samir Okasha, defending my thesis 'Biological Individuality and the Levels of Selection' in 2010.
Since then I've had two postdocs (in Vienna and in Oxford) and two children, before returning to Leeds as a Lecturer in Jan 2017. I’m on the steering commitee of the British Society for the Philosophy of Science, and I’m an Associuate Editor for the journal Biology and Philosophy.
I recently published a monograph with OUP The Units of Life: Kinds of individual in biology
Responsibilities
- Lead for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
- Director of Centre for HPS
Research interests
My research explores the metaphysics and epistemology of biological science, especially the ontology of the living world. It asks questions such as What biological objects are there and what sorts of things are they? Where does each end and another begin? How can we explain how they came into being? What role do the concepts we assign them play in evolutionary theory? I've applied these questions to species, organisms, genes, plants, bacteria, societies, symbioses ideas and more.
I'm also interested in social ontology more broadly and in the social and political dimensions of the evolution of cooperation, whether it be cooperation between biological or social entities.
Most recently, I've been exploring environmental ethics and conservation philosophy, especially thinking about how units issues play into questions about conservation interventions such as rewilding, de-extinction or species revival, and novel ecosystems.
See all my published work explained here
Professional memberships
- https://www.philinbiomed.org/
- http://philsci.eu/
- https://extendedevolutionarysynthesis.com/people/
Student education
I teach Feminist Philosophy, Environmental Ethics, Philosophy of Biology, Philosophy of Race and introductory Philosophy of Science.
I am available to supervise final projects on any of these topics.
I am also available to supervise doctoral students on any thesis concerning philosophy of biology, but especially evolutionary biology or conservation ecology.
Research groups and institutes
- Philosophy
- History and Philosophy of Science