In Memoriam

Michael Ruse, who from 2000 until his retirement in 2020 was Lucyle T. Werkmeister Professor of Philosophy at Florida State University, died on November 1. Michael founded and directed the Program in History and Philosophy of Science at FSU. He had previously taught at the University of Guelph, after receiving his doctorate from the University of Bristol in 1970.

Michael was instrumental in establishing philosophy of biology as an important subfield of philosophy of science. He wrote extensively on the theory of evolution, the relation of science and religion, and the demarcation problem, which seeks, among other things, to distinguish science from pseudoscience. He was an incredibly prolific scholar, author or editor of some 70 volumes. His latest book, Charles Darwin: No Rebel, Great Revolutionary, will be published by Cambridge University Press this month. He founded the journal Biology & Philosophy, which he edited from 1986 to 2000.

Michael was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was a Guggenheim Fellow in 1983-84, a Gifford Lecturer at University of Glasgow, and a Herbert Spencer Lecturer at Oxford University. He won the John Templeton Book Prize in 1999 and was awarded the David L. Hull Prize in 2021. He received honorary degrees from the University of Bergen, McMaster University, the University of New Brunswick, and University College London.

In 1981, Michael served as a witness for the plaintiff challenging an Arkansas law permitting the teaching of “creation science” in public schools. The law was found unconstitutional.

A non-believer all his adult life, Michael was nevertheless not hostile to religion. On this point he differed markedly from the “new atheists.”

Michael was extraordinarily generous with support and advice for his students, both during and after their graduate studies. Many enjoyed lively gatherings at his home, which were famous for their abundance of food, drink, wit, and cheer.

Michael is survived by his wife, Lizzie, five children, Nigel, Rebecca, Emily, Oliver, and Edward, and seven grandchildren.

We offer our sincere condolences to Michael’s family, friends, and former students. We shall miss him. He was truly one of a kind.