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In the first of two articles on the ontology of biological entities (appeared in Resonance, Vol.29, No.8, pp.1111–1126), I had discussed how young students of biology intuitively imagine the biosphere, constructed from the bottom up by physical material entities that act as its building blocks. The nature of being, or ontologies, of these entities, it would seem, depend upon the machination of parts and processes confined within their material demarcating structures like membranes, walls, and skins. I suggested that perhaps there is precedence to this view due to the influence of reductionist and mechanical philosophies upon the early development of biological thought. Additionally, this view is mirrored in the way biology is taught in academic institutions today that could reinforce this part–whole, hierarchical imagination of the biosphere. In this article, I discuss the development of biological thought that took shape in the early part of the 18th century that was influenced by and borrowed from contemporary developments in disciplines outside the natural sciences. It arose primarily as a response to the reductionist and mechanical descriptions of living bodies, and may be seen as a move toward a more holistic understanding of the biosphere. These frameworks bring forth the idea of conceptual unities whose ontologies are dynamic and influenced by changes outside their boundaries. Taken together, both these perspectives are useful and necessary for a student of biology to appreciate the diverse and dynamic nature of the biosphere. A useful guide to understanding material and conceptual boundaries is provided. Once again, I take recourse to Robert Frost's poem "Mending Wall" to guide our discussions on the topic. Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder If I could put a notion in his head: 'Why do they make good neighbors?' Isn't it Where there are cows? But here there are no cows. Before I built a wall I'd ask to know What I was walling in or walling out, And to whom I was like to give offense. Something there is that doesn't love a wall –An extract from Robert Frost's "Mending Wall" [1]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Components of the biosphere, dynamic and diverse as they are, can be imagined to assume two rather distinct morphologies. Some present themselves as materially bounded unities, while others lack material boundaries but can appear unified conceptually. In this series of two articles on the ontology (the nature of being or the general features of the object/s of enquiry and also their relationships) of biological phenomena, the development of thought regarding boundedness in biology and the nature of bounded part-whole constructions are discussed. In the first part, I discuss some of the classical developments of biological thought that imagined the biosphere as a collection of material entities that come into being due to functions of components within their material boundaries. I present three instances in early conventional bioscience learning, two of these discussing the biosphere as hierarchical unities and one positing internal mechanisms as being crucial to their material ontology. This pedagogical exercise is intuitive and provides focus to students' imagination. I take recourse to Robert Frost's poem "Mending Wall" to guide discussions on the topic: He is all pine and I am apple orchard. My apple trees will never get across. And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him. He only says, "Good fences make good neighbors." He will not go behind his father's saying. And he likes having thought of it so well. He says again, "Good fences make good neighbors." - An extract from Robert Frost's "Mending Wall" [1]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]