Callebaut WernerThe Werner Callebaut Prize is named in honor of Werner Callebaut (1952–2014), whose untimely death in 2014 inflicted a serious blow to the philosophy of biology community worldwide.

The award is intended to advance the careers of younger scholars working at the intersection of the fields represented by the ISHPSSB, and is awarded to the best manuscript utilizing an interdisciplinary approach based on a presentation at one of the two previous ISHPSSB meetings by someone who was, at the time of presentation, a graduate student.

Werner's mentorship and guidance has benefitted the intellectual and personal development of countless philosophers and scientists over the last twenty years, and contributed greatly to making sure that philosophical and scientific work evolve in constructive dialogue and reciprocal respect. His work reached creatively across fields of relevance to the philosophical understanding of biology (comprising areas as far removed as economics, evolutionary biology, history, sociology and cognitive science), as well as across national cultures, languages and traditions (most notably the ‘continental-analytic’ divide among philosophers of science), hence making a prize focused on interdisciplinarity most appropriate, especially for ISHPSSB.

KLIThe award consists of a certificate and US$1000, as well as a permanent record of the award on a plaque which circulates every two years to the current winner(s). The prize has been made possible through the generosity of individual donors and of the Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research (KLI) for financial support.

Recipients

For prize citations click on the name of the recipient.

YearWinner(s)Presentation title(s)
2023 Devin Gouvêa Historicizing the homology problem
2021 Marina DiMarco (re)Producing mtEve
2019 Sidney Carls-Diamante Make Up Your Mind: Octopus cognition and hybrid explanations
2017 Lynn Chiu The Birth of the Holobiont
2015 Sara Green Systems Biology and the Quest for Organizing Principles