A major contribution, by German philosoph and art historian Horst Bredekamp, to the current debate on the 'tree of life' in evolutionary biology. The essay deals with the aesthetic and political dimension of the coral, in Darwin's system a model of anarchic evolution which opposes the hierarchical metaphor of the tree.
An art historian and philosopher, Horst Bredekamp is professor at the Institute for the History of Art and Image at Berlin's Humboldt University and, since 2019, senior co-director of the Matters of Activity cluster of excellence. Author of numerous books and articles, he has won several awards in Germany, including the Sigmund-Freud Prize (2001).
