Biography

Catherine Kendig is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Michigan State University. She completed her PhD in Philosophy at the University of Exeter/ESRC Centre for Genomics in Society and her MSc in Philosophy and History of Science at King’s College London. Her main research interests are in philosophy of scientific classification (including normative aspects of classificatory and pre-classificatory activities), natural kinds, synthetic biology, and philosophy of race. Her research in socially engaged philosophy of synthetic biology and synthetic kinds has been supported through the National Science Foundation, Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences. As a recent Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh, her research focused on scientific classification, the concept of homology and the liminality of biological kinds. She is editor of the recent collection of interdisciplinary essays Natural Kinds and Classification in Scientific Practice (2016, Routledge).

Selected Publications

• Kendig, Catherine and Bryan A. Bartley (2019). “Synthetic kinds: kind-making in synthetic biology.” In Julia R. S. Bursten (ed.) Perspectives on Classification in Synthetic Sciences: Unnatural Kinds. London: Taylor & Francis, pp. 78-96. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781315098838/chapters/10.4324/9781315098838-5
• Kendig, Catherine and John Grey (2019) “Can the epistemic value of natural kinds be explained independently of their metaphysics?” British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. axz004. https://academic.oup.com/bjps/advance-article/doi/10.1093/bjps/axz004/5305024
• Kendig, Catherine (2018) “Considering the role marked variation plays in classifying humans: a normative approach.” Philosophy, Theory, and Practice in Biology 10(13): 1-15. http://dx.doi.org/10.3998/ptpbio.16039257.0010.013
• Kendig, Catherine and Eckdahl, Todd T. (2017) “Reengineering metaphysics: modularity, parthood, and evolvability in metabolic engineering”. Special issue: Ontologies of Living Beings (A.M. Ferner and Thomas Pradeu, eds.) Philosophy, Theory, and Practice in Biology 9(8): 1-21. http://dx.doi.org/10.3998/ptb.6959004.0009.008
• Kendig, Catherine (2016) “Activities of kinding in scientific practice” In Catherine Kendig (ed.) Natural Kinds and Classification in Scientific Practice. Abingdon and New York: Routledge, 1-13. https://www.routledge.com/products/9781848935402
• Kendig, Catherine (2016) “What is proof of concept research and how does it generate epistemic and ethical categories for future scientific practice?” Science and Engineering Ethics 22(3), 735-753. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11948-015-9654-0
• Kendig, Catherine (2011). “Race as a Physiosocial Phenomenon.” History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 33(2): 191–222. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23335116

Websites

• MSU webpage: http://www.philosophy.msu.edu/people/faculty/catherinekendig/
• Academia.edu: https://michiganstate.academia.edu/CatherineKatieKendig
• ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Catherine_Kendig