Digital publication of the opening lecture by Pr Virginie Courtier-Orgogozo

Virginie Courtier-Orgogozo

Thinking differently about living things

Human beings understand life on Earth through their senses. Our perceptions are limited, but so is our understanding of biodiversity and the dynamics that run through it, preventing us from fully measuring the impact of our activities on ecosystems.

Going against conventional wisdom, Virginie Courtier-Orgogozo questions biology's approach to " nature ", inviting us to become aware of the biases underlying our knowledge of the world, in order to transform our relationship with living things and rethink the place of our species in its environment. This opening lecture is an essential contribution to the debate on the current biodiversity crisis.

Courtier-Orgogozo V., Penser le vivant autrement, Paris, Collège de France, coll. " Leçons inaugurales ",^no 319, 2024.

Virginie Courtier-Orgogozo is Director of Research at the CNRS, Associate Professor at the École Polytechnique and head of the Evolution and Genetics team at the Institut Jacques Monod (CNRS/Université Paris Cité). She is a visiting professor at the Collège de France, where she holds the annual Biodiversity and Ecosystems Chair, created with the support of the Jean-François and Marie-Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre Foundation.