Species, this is the basic unit for most biology research. However, is concept harbors a typological
idea, where intraspecific variations are irrelevant. On the other hand, a reductionist perspective, such as
genetics, cellular and molecular biology, has gained prominence in biological science, mainly due to the
advances made in the field of medicine, but this approach confers on the organism a very limited importance to the understanding of biological phenomena. Therefore, many authors advocate that adopting the biological organism at the core of our theories would bring a more faithful and complete approach to the natural world. The biological organism constitutes an integrated and cohesive unit capable of reproducing, which operates on the basis of a genetic structure, carrying out exchange of matter, energy and information with the environment. However, a fundamental characteristic of organisms is that they have individuality (oneness) as a biological attribute. Many may be the causes that generate individuality; however, genetic structure, learning, and volition are some of the most obvious causes. Although these causes are not recognized in all taxa, the genetic structure is the cause of more comprehensive individuality and encompasses all living beings, whereas learning and volition are recognized only in animals, both invertebrates and vertebrates. A number of empirical and theoretical works have supported the belief that considering the individual organism as well as the intraspecific variations is important and has significant consequences on the ecological dynamics, both in the population, community and ecosystem. However, this notion does not seem to have been well absorbed by ecologists, since two of the major community-based theories, the ecological niche and the neutral theory of biodiversity, do not take into account individual variations. In this sense, the present
study carried out a theoretical-philosophical analysis on the causes of individuality, recognizing the
biological individuality as a universal and significant phenomenon, discussing the importance of considering the individual organism for the advancement of ecological science.
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