 Some systems biologists describe their approach as one occupied with functional, rather than evolutionary questions (Boogerd et al. 2007; Hofmeyr 2007). By stressing the autonomy of functional biology, beyond discussions of selected effects, philosophy of systems biology can help balance the extensive emphasis on evolutionary biology in philosophy of biology (Pradeu 2016). At the same time, evolutionary systems biology presents a new research approach aiming to extend both systems biology and evolutionary biology  (Section 3.3).