Abstract
The study focuses on the main aspects of the thought of František Mareš, the "philosophising physiologist". First, it examines Mareš' attempt to formulate the principles of scientific life in a precise way, which would establish the rules of exactitude, but at the same time provide research with an overlap of specialization.
In his endeavour, Mareš drew on a solid knowledge of Kant's philosophy, which later led to the so-called dispute over Kant, in which he led a polemic with Masaryk and especially with Rádl. Throughout his life, Mareš was highly critical of realism and advocated a rather idealistic and vitalistic determination of moral values.
Hence his understanding of the individual as an autopoietic unit.