The disciplines of biology and the social sciences share common roots in history and yet have drifted apart so much that the demarcation line between them has become a contested boundary.

The boundary between the 'natural' and the 'social' is shifting permanently. Moves in either direction are subject to ideological rhetoric. Yet there is continual exchange across the lines: Metaphors are moving freely between biology and the social sciences. As messengers of meaning they become agents of change, for ever undermining any attempt of fixing similarities and differences.

This collection of papers offers a unique look at the function of metaphors in mediating between two disciplinary cultures which represent and mold our views about nature and society, and the boundary between them. This book is of interest to professionals and students from history, philosophy and sociology of science, biology, and literary science alike.