Levels of Organization in Evo-Devo

Levels of organization is an ambiguous concept but typically refers to entities at a higher level being composed of entities at a lower level. Understood in this way, levels of organization have played an important role in various branches of biology, including evo-devo. However, sustained attempts at defining or characterizing levels precisely have been rare. The most significant approaches are Wimsatt’s theory of levels of organization, Craver’s account of levels of mechanisms, and recent skeptical or deflationary perspectives. Although many definitions of levels of organization face various difficulties, their flexibility and intuitive appeal suggest that the concept is likely to remain active in biological research, including in evo-devo.