Scroll to Content

LIFE IN THE MAKING IS A COLLECTIVE

Life on Earth has been evolving for at least 3.5 billion years. That happens at various scales: that of the molecule, the cell, the organ, the individual and the ecosystem. Through random events and selection under constraints, life engenders a diversity of living beings that interact with but also transform their respective environments. In history, this ‘natural’ exploration of possibilities has been expanded by a range of human techniques and manipulations. Humans have invented novel ways of interacting with living systems and are nowadays capable of intervening directly in evolutionary processes. The evolution of life and the link between human action and the state of the terrestrial biosphere are therefore related questions that can only be tackled in conjunction. Beyond the physical limits imposed on the evolution of living systems, what are the limits that humans can or must set in their interactions with their environment? What influence do norms and values (moral, legal, religious, economic, aesthetic) have on these interactions in fields such as agriculture, animal husbandry or medicine? In the light of the emergence of ever more sophisticated biotechnologies these questions are pressing. There is an urgent need to reflect on the ways in which we, humans, can live with other living beings.

That is why we founded the ‘Life in the Making’ collective — a group that includes natural scientists, scholars in the (environmental) humanities and social sciences as well as artists and artistic researchers. We have very different backgrounds but what unites us is a shared fascination for the newly emerging connections between living and technical systems. The members of the collective seek to develop conceptually creative yet scientifically sound approaches to better apprehend the opportunities and the uncertainties that arise from the unprecedented ways in which humans are entangled with the wider living environment. Our starting point is that this conceptual elaboration cannot be done without exploring the affects, imaginations and representations that play a role in the construction of these entanglements. Our collective plans to organise colloquia, round-table discussions, film-debates, exhibitions and performances. We also plan to publish essays, books and a richly illustrated La vie à l’oeuvre catalogue. We explicitly aim to share our knowledge and approaches with a broad audience, beyond purely academic circles.

Publication of

PUISSANCE DU VÉGÉTAL ET CINÉMA ANIMISTE

A transdisciplinary study of the representation of plants and their powers to think about the question of animation, cinema, photography and more broadly, that of the image, in the Anthropocene era and in the context of the "Green turning point" at work in the field of human sciences as well as contemporary art.

Puisanceduvégétal

OUR PAST ACTIONS

OUR RESEARCH PROGRAMS

domesticationvivant-long

DFV

Domestication et Fabrication du Vivant

Domestication and fabrication of life is an action supported by the Mission Interdisciplinarite du CNRS (Pépinière de site CNRSPSL) engages in interdisciplinary reflection involving the natural sciences (biology, chemistry, physics,...), the human sciences (anthropology, epistemology, philosophy, sociology,...) and technologies (robotics,...) in order to question the boundaries and definitions of the living and the non-living.

domesticationvivant-long

VIAO

La Vie À l'Œuvre

To explore the potential of bioart and biodesign.

This project brings together actors from various PSL institutions (art and design schools, laboratories of natural science and human and social sciences) to explore the potentialities represented by biotechnology transfers in artistic, craft and industrial practices developing in the fields of bioart and biodesign.

 

 

 

domesticationvivant-long

OCAV

Origines et Conditions d'Apparition de la Vie

Origins and Conditions of Appearance of Life

The question of the conditions of the appearance of life or the presence of life in the universe, long considered to belong to the speculative domain, is becoming an active field of research. This affects many scientific fields of astronomy and astrophysics (with the discovery of extrasolar planets and our better knowledge of the solar system thanks to space probes), physico-chemistry and biology (with our advances concerning the pre-biotic world, the emergence of living matter, and the key stages of evolution). This reflection is also accompanied by a questioning of our way of thinking about the frontiers between the living and the non-living and how we represent them. With the project IRIS Origins and conditions of appearance of life, PSL wishes to contribute in a unique way to this theme.

 

domesticationvivant-long

IMOVIE

Imitation des êtres vivants et modélisation de la vie

Imitation of living beings and modeling of life

Biomimicry is often presented as a solution to the ecological crisis that human societies are going through. For its advocates, this approach could establish, or restore, a less destructive relationship with the environment, by adopting approaches and manufacturing processes that imitate nature.

But as we sketch out the guiding ideas for new models of individual and collective action, we need to reflect on the conceptions of nature, life and technology associated with these practices, and not only in Western societies. Rather than considering the imitation of nature and life as a universal mechanism, it is crucial to reflect on the anthropological foundations of biomimicry or - to emphasize the diversity of practices - "biomimicry".

Who are we?

ID-Joffrey

Joffrey Becker

Researcher in social anthropology and etnology
ID-Joffrey

Teresa Castro

Associate Professor in Film Studies

Sorbonne Nouvelle University

ID-Joffrey

Emmanuel Ferrand

Assistant Professor in mathematics

Sorbonne Université

ID-Joffrey

Lia Giraud

Artist, researcher and professor of photography

ESADMM

ID-Joffrey

Leopoldo Iribarren

Philologist and philosopher
EHESS
ID-Joffrey

Cyrille Jeancolas

PhD student in Physics and anthropology

ESPCI - EHESS

ID-Joffrey

Ludovic Jullien

Chemist

Sorbonne Université - ENS

ID-Joffrey

Lauren Kamili

doctoral student in social anthropology

EHESS/LAS/ADEME

ID-Joffrey

Émilie Letouzey

Postdoc in anthropology
ID-Joffrey

Dominique Peysson

Artist and researcher
ID-Joffrey

Perig Pitrou

anthropologist

CNRS - Collège de France

ID-Joffrey

Fabien Provost

Social anthropologist

King's College London

ID-Joffrey

Catherine Villard

Biophysicist

IPGG

ID-Joffrey

Stéphane Vuilleumier

Microbiologist

Strasbourg University