Michael Ruse, who was professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of Guelph and retired from Florida State University, has died.

Professor Ruse was known for his work in philosophy of science, particularly philosophy of biology, evolutionary theory, and Darwinism, and philosophy of religion. He wrote extensively on this topics, in books ranging from 1979’s The Darwinian Revolution to Understanding the Christianity-Evolution Relationship, published just last year, and many articles, which one can learn more about here. Ruse was the founding editor of the journal, Biology and Philosophy. He was a Guggenheim Fellow in 1983-84 and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1986.

Ruse started teaching at the University of Guelph in 1965, beginning as a lecturer and retiring as a professor from there in 2000. For the next twenty years he was a professor of philosophy at Florida State University, serving for much of his time there as director of its Program in the History and Philosophy of Science. He earned his PhD from the University of Bristol, his MA from McMaster University, and his BA from Bristol.

Active in public debates about science and religion, Ruse served as an expert witness in a court case in Arkansas in 1981, testifying on the difference between science and religion. His testimony helped the plaintiff successfully fight a law mandating the teaching of creationism in the public school biology classes in the state. In a 2009 essay, Ruse discusses his views on religion, avowing his anti-creationism but distancing himself from the so-called “new atheists” of the day. He describes himself as an atheist “who wants to build a bridge to believers.”

He died on November 1st, 2024.

Obituary here.