Qiaoying Lu is an assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy at Peking University. She has been engaged in working on philosophical issues about epigenetics, especially on the conceptions of the gene in evolutionary theories.

Her doctoral thesis and her paper with Dr. Bourrat “The Evolutionary Gene and the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis”, which was published in the British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, investigates possible challenges from epigenetic inheritance against the Modern Synthesis. They propose a gene concept in the evolutionary sense that includes not only DNA sequences but also heritable epigenetic modifications and develops an extended gene-centric framework of evolution. This framework extends the gene concept in a traditional gene-centric view so that it can accommodate phenomena of epigenetic inheritance.

Lu also applies her idea to other topics such as the units of selection, the missing heritability problem and the revival of Lamarkism, etc. Her work on evolution also leads her to think about the application of evolutionary explanations in cognitive science.

At the Berggruen Institute, Lu will focus on questions of how to understand “minimal cognition” in light of evolution, and how to extend our understanding of human cognition and AI cognition.

陆俏颖是北京大学哲学系科学技术哲学教研室的助理教授，主要从事有关基因概念和演化论的哲学研究。她的博士论文，及其与Pierrick博士发表于British Journal for the Philosophy of Science的论文“The Evolutionary Gene and the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis”关注于表观遗传现象对于现代进化综合的挑战。她们提出了“演化型基因”和“延展的基因中心论”框架，指出“演化型基因”不仅包括DNA，还包括可遗传的表观修饰。此框架在一定程度上修正了传统的基因中心论，揭示了演化解释与机制解释的区别与联系。以此为基础，陆俏颖还对基因作为自然选择的单位，遗传率消失之谜，拉马克主义的复兴等话题作出了进一步探讨，其成果已发表于国内外重要期刊。对基因和演化论的研究也使她对演化解释进路在认知科学的应用产生了兴趣。她在博古睿中心的工作将主要探讨演化进路视角下的“最小认知”，以此扩展到对于人类认知和AI认知的理解。