International Interdisciplinary ASAB Workshop: AGENCY BETWEEN BIOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY

We are delighted to invite you to our workshop, which marks the culmination of our seminar series on Agency between Biology and Philosophy.

The workshop will take place at University College London (London UK), and online on 22-23 September 2026.

Confirmed speakers

• Camilla Cenni (University of Mannheim)

• Lewis Daly (University College London)

• Hugh Desmond (Wageningen University)

• Elisa Fernández Fueyo (Royal Holloway, University of London / University College London)

• Florian Moullard (Université Montpellier Paul-Valéry)

• Angie Pepper (University of Roehampton)

• Marek Špinka (Czech University of Life Sciences Prague)

• Denis Walsh (University of Toronto)

• Alessandra Yu (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai)

Rationale

The aim of this workshop is to bridge the gap between theorists and experimentalists in philosophy and biology, clarify the various uses of the concept of agency in animal studies, and investigate its significance and applications in scientific and conservation contexts. Agency will serve as a focal point for addressing key questions related to both animal studies and their epistemology.

An agency-based approach will be explored for its contribution to understanding animal subjectivity, communication, inventiveness, culture, and traditions. The workshop will also provide an opportunity to critically examine our theoretical and experimental methods: by analysing the role of anthropomorphism in science, exploring the kinds of experimental approaches that enable the expression of agency, and discussing how conservation policies can support it. More broadly, the event will offer a space to reflect on the collaborative potential between biology and philosophy within the field of animal studies.

Preliminary program

22 September 2026

Morning:

• Elevator pitches session (if you want to participate, please indicate it and submit an abstract when you register, link below)

• One lecture

Coffee break

• One lecture

Lunch break

Afternoon:

• Two lectures

23 September 2026

Morning: 

• Two lectures

Coffee break

One lecture

Lunch break

Afternoon:

• Two lectures

• Roundtable discussions on challenging cases of agency

Registration

You can register here. Please note that in-person places are limited, so registration will close once we reach capacity.

No need to register to participate online. The link for online participation will be shared on this page.

About the elevator pitches:

Elevator pitches are aimed at Early Career Researchers and will be limited to 3 slides for 3 minutes.

If you would like to take part in the elevator pitches session , please register and submit an abstract by 7 August 2026.

We will get back to applicants by the end of August.