Speciation and species: a process perspective

This perspective proposes that we should think of speciation in the context of a general processual ontology, in which organisms and lineages are seen as central, interdependent processes. It explains what is implied by process ontology with the example of the organism, to illustrate that processes can be persistent individuals, though generally requiring active stabilisation. It then explores the idea that speciation should be seen as a bifurcation of a lineage. The relevant notion of species, as a temporal part of an evolving lineage, is narrower than the most inclusive basal taxonomic unit, so speciation in this sense is not applicable to all organisms. The lineage as concrete process is an evolved entity, hence organisms pre-existed lineages and may still exist outside them