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Michael Ruse

Florida State University
  •  Home
  •  Publications
    407
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  •  Events
    3
  •  News and Updates
    108
  •  Philosophical Views

 More details
  • Florida State University
    Department of Philosophy
    Other
Tallahassee, Florida, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
Philosophy of Religion
Philosophy of Biology
Areas of Interest
Philosophy of Religion
Philosophy of Biology
  • All publications (407)
  •  75
    Is science sexist?
    Behavioral and Brain Sciences 3 (2): 197-198. 1980.
    Philosophy of Cognitive Science
  •  88
    Bunge on time
    Philosophy of Science 39 (1): 82. 1972.
    Science, Logic, and MathematicsLatin American Philosophy of Science, Logic, and Mathematics
  •  110
    The Value of Analogical Models in Science
    Dialogue 12 (2): 246-253. 1973.
    Theories and Models
  •  99
    Natural theology: The biological sciences
    In J. H. Brooke, F. Watts & R. R. Manning (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Natural Theology, Oxford Up. pp. 397. 2013.
    This chapter demonstrates the significance of the biological sciences in natural theology. It does so by considering three major topics: the argument from design, the problem of evil, and the place of humans in the cosmic scheme of things. In the light of modern biology, specifically modern Darwinian evolutionary theory, there is little support for definitive proofs of the nature and existence of the Christian God. However, notwithstanding arguments to the contrary, there is nothing in modern Da…Read more
    This chapter demonstrates the significance of the biological sciences in natural theology. It does so by considering three major topics: the argument from design, the problem of evil, and the place of humans in the cosmic scheme of things. In the light of modern biology, specifically modern Darwinian evolutionary theory, there is little support for definitive proofs of the nature and existence of the Christian God. However, notwithstanding arguments to the contrary, there is nothing in modern Darwinian evolutionary theory that makes impossible a belief in a traditional form of Christianity.
    Philosophy of BiologyHistory of Biology
  •  89
    Discovery in the Physical Sciences. By Richard J. Blackwell. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1969. Pp. xii, 240. $8.50 (review)
    Dialogue 9 (3): 480-485. 1970.
  •  83
    Studies in the Philosophy of Biology. Reduction and Related ProblemsFranciso José Ayala Theodosius Dobzhansky
    Isis 67 (3): 479-481. 1976.
    History of BiologyReduction in Biology, Misc
  •  129
    Henry L. Minton. Departing from Deviance: A History of Homosexual Rights and Emancipatory Science in America. 360 pp., illus., index. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2002. $20
    Isis 96 (1): 149-150. 2005.
    Sexual RightsHomosexualityHistory of Science, Misc
  •  90
    The Possibility of Naturalism: A Philosophical Critique of the Contemporary Human Sciences. Roy Bhaskar
    Isis 72 (3): 493-495. 1981.
    History of Science
  •  445
    Moral Philosophy as Applied Science
    with Edward O. Wilson
    Philosophy 61 (236): 173-192. 1986.
    (1) For much of this century, moral philosophy has been constrained by the supposed absolute gap between is andought, and the consequent belief that the facts of life cannot of themselves yield an ethical blueprint for future action. For this reason, ethics has sustained an eerie existence largely apart from science. Its most respected interpreters still believe that reasoning about right and wrong can be successful without a knowledge of the brain, the human organ where all the decisions about …Read more
    (1) For much of this century, moral philosophy has been constrained by the supposed absolute gap between is andought, and the consequent belief that the facts of life cannot of themselves yield an ethical blueprint for future action. For this reason, ethics has sustained an eerie existence largely apart from science. Its most respected interpreters still believe that reasoning about right and wrong can be successful without a knowledge of the brain, the human organ where all the decisions about right and wrong are made. Ethical premises are typically treated in the manner of mathematical propositions: directives supposedly independent of human evolution, with a claim to ideal, eternal truth.
    Evolution of Morality
  •  263
    Darwinism and mechanism: metaphor in science
    Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 36 (2): 285-302. 2005.
    There are two main senses of ‘mechanism’, both deriving from the metaphor of nature as a machine. One sense refers to contrivance or design, as in ‘the plant’s mechanism of attracting butterflies’. The other sense refers to cause or law process, as in ‘the mechanism of heredity’. In his work on evolution, Charles Darwin showed that organisms are produced by a mechanism in the second sense, although he never used this language. He also discussed contrivance, where he did use the language of mecha…Read more
    There are two main senses of ‘mechanism’, both deriving from the metaphor of nature as a machine. One sense refers to contrivance or design, as in ‘the plant’s mechanism of attracting butterflies’. The other sense refers to cause or law process, as in ‘the mechanism of heredity’. In his work on evolution, Charles Darwin showed that organisms are produced by a mechanism in the second sense, although he never used this language. He also discussed contrivance, where he did use the language of mechanism. This discussion relates metaphor in general and Darwin’s use of the machine metaphor in particular to the problem of the nature of science, concluding that one use of the metaphor reinforces the objective nature of science and the other use reinforces the subjective nature of science
    Science, Logic, and MathematicsPhilosophy of Biology
  •  7
    Russell Vannoy, Sex Without Love—A Philosophical Exploration Reviewed by (review)
    Philosophy in Review 1 (1): 48-52. 1981.
  •  71
    Frederick Burkhardt;, James A. Secord;, Janet Browne;, Samantha Evans;, Shelley Innes;, Alison M. Pearn;, Paul White . The Correspondence of Charles Darwin. Volume 19: 1871. xli + 1,062 pp., illus., table, bibl., index. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012. £90
    Isis 104 (3): 622-624. 2013.
  • Biology
    In John Skorupski (ed.), The Routledge Companion to Ethics, Routledge. 2012.
  •  194
    Medicine as social science: The case of Freud on homosexuality
    Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 6 (4): 361-386. 1981.
    This paper considers the question of whether the explanation of homosexual orientation offered by Sigmund Freud qualifies as a genuine explanation, judged by the criteria of the social sciences. It is argued that the explanation, namely that homosexual orientation is a function of atypical parental influences, is indeed an explanation of the kind found in the social sciences. Nevertheless, it is concluded that to date Freud's hypotheses about homosexuality are no more than unproven speculations.…Read more
    This paper considers the question of whether the explanation of homosexual orientation offered by Sigmund Freud qualifies as a genuine explanation, judged by the criteria of the social sciences. It is argued that the explanation, namely that homosexual orientation is a function of atypical parental influences, is indeed an explanation of the kind found in the social sciences. Nevertheless, it is concluded that to date Freud's hypotheses about homosexuality are no more than unproven speculations. Also considered is the question of whether the very topic of homosexuality falls or ought to fall within the domain of medical inquiry. CiteULike Connotea Del.icio.us What's this?
    The Nature of Sexual Orientation, MiscTopics in the Philosophy of Sexual Orientation, MiscSigmund Fr…Read more
    The Nature of Sexual Orientation, MiscTopics in the Philosophy of Sexual Orientation, MiscSigmund FreudBiomedical Ethics
  •  44
    Creationism Takes its Message to Europe
    Science & Education 24 (9-10): 1227-1230. 2015.
  •  73
    Robert M. Young. Darwin's Metaphor: Nature's Place in Victorian Culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985. Pp. xvii + 341. ISBN 0-521-31742-8. £27.50, $44.50 , £9.95, $15.95 (review)
    British Journal for the History of Science 20 (1): 118-119. 1987.
    History of Biology
  •  87
    Evolutionary Ethics: Healthy Prospect or Last Infirmity?
    Canadian Journal of Philosophy 18 (S1): 27-73. 1988.
    Evolutionary ethics, the idea that the evolutionary process contains the basis for a full and adequate understanding of human moral nature, is an old and disreputable notion. It was popularized in the 19th century by the English general man of science, Herbert Spencer, who began advocating an evolutionary approach to ethical understanding, even before Charles Darwin published hisOrigin of Speciesin 1859 (Spencer 1857, 1892). Although it was never regarded with much enthusiasm by professional phi…Read more
    Evolutionary ethics, the idea that the evolutionary process contains the basis for a full and adequate understanding of human moral nature, is an old and disreputable notion. It was popularized in the 19th century by the English general man of science, Herbert Spencer, who began advocating an evolutionary approach to ethical understanding, even before Charles Darwin published hisOrigin of Speciesin 1859 (Spencer 1857, 1892). Although it was never regarded with much enthusiasm by professional philosophers, thanks to Spencer’s advocacy the evolutionary approach to ethics soon gained wide popularity, both in Britain and towards the end of the century, even more in the United States of America (Ruse 1986; Russett 1976). It became transformed into a whole sociopolitical doctrine, known somewhat inaccurately as ‘Social Darwinism.’ (Scholars have long debated as to whether Darwin himself was truly a Social Darwinian, and the answer seems to depend on which of his works you read. If you look at theOrigin of Species, he certainly is not. On the other hand, if you look at theDescent of Man, there are good reasons for thinking that he was not unsympathetic to the idea.
    Evolution of Morality
  •  1
    Atheism, Naturalism and Science: Three in One?
    In Peter Harrison (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Science and Religion, Cambridge University Press. 2010.
    Science and Religion
  •  113
    The nature of scientific models : Formal V material analogy
    Philosophy of the Social Sciences 3 (1): 63-80. 1973.
    Analogy in ScienceThe Nature of ModelsPhilosophy of Economics
  •  98
    John Bellamy Foster;, Brett Clark;, Richard York. Critique of Intelligent Design: Materialism versus Creationism from Antiquity to the Present. 240 pp., index. New York: Monthly Review Press, 2008. $15.95 (review)
    Isis 100 (4): 883-884. 2009.
    Design Arguments for TheismIntelligent DesignHistory of BiologyScience and ReligionHistory of Wester…Read more
    Design Arguments for TheismIntelligent DesignHistory of BiologyScience and ReligionHistory of Western Philosophy, Misc
  •  134
    Charles Darwin’s O n the Origin of Species
    Topoi 26 (1): 159-165. 2007.
    History of BiologySpecies
  •  18
    Reviews (review)
    with Karl-Dieter Opp and H. W. Hetzler
    Theory and Decision 1 (4): 399-406. 1971.
  •  82
    Evolution and the idea of social progress
    In Denis R. Alexander & Ronald L. Numbers (eds.), Biology and Ideology from Descartes to Dawkins, University of Chicago Press. 2010.
    In evolutionary theory, the idea of organic evolution is linked to the social doctrine or ideology of progress. This chapter explores the relationship between evolution and the idea of social progress by first considering the definitions of evolution, social or cultural progress, and providence. It then comments on the science of Charles Darwin's Origin of Species, which it argues was not perfect because Darwin encountered a lot of problems with heredity and with the fossil record. Physicists ar…Read more
    In evolutionary theory, the idea of organic evolution is linked to the social doctrine or ideology of progress. This chapter explores the relationship between evolution and the idea of social progress by first considering the definitions of evolution, social or cultural progress, and providence. It then comments on the science of Charles Darwin's Origin of Species, which it argues was not perfect because Darwin encountered a lot of problems with heredity and with the fossil record. Physicists argued that the earth's lifespan is not long enough to accomodate a leisurely process such as natural selection. In general, however, the Origin of Species is a pretty good attempt at producing epistemically satisfying science. The emergence of Mendelian genetics, the building of population genetics, and the work of the empiricists fleshing out the theoretical skeleton gave rise to modern evolutionary biology.
    Evolutionary Biology
  •  117
    Margaret A. Boden, ed., The Philosophy of Artificial Life, Oxford Readings in Philosophy, New York: Oxford University Press, 1996, viii + 405 pp., 65.00 (cloth), ISBN 0-19-875154-0; 19.95 (paper), ISBN 0-19-875155- (review)
    Minds and Machines 9 (1): 139-143. 1998.
    Artificial Life
  •  61
    Taking Darwin Seriously: A Naturalistic Approach to Philosophy
    Prometheus Books. 1986.
    Brings together traditional philosophy and modern sociobiology to examine evolutionary biology and its relation to the evolution of knowledge and ethics
    Evolutionary Biology
  •  654
    Biological species: Natural kinds, individuals, or what?
    British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 38 (2): 225-242. 1987.
    What are biological species? Aristotelians and Lockeans agree that they are natural kinds; but, evolutionary theory shows that neither traditional philosophical approach is truly adequate. Recently, Michael Ghiselin and David Hull have argued that species are individuals. This claim is shown to be against the spirit of much modern biology. It is concluded that species are natural kinds of a sort, and that any 'objectivity' they possess comes from their being at the focus of a consilience of indu…Read more
    What are biological species? Aristotelians and Lockeans agree that they are natural kinds; but, evolutionary theory shows that neither traditional philosophical approach is truly adequate. Recently, Michael Ghiselin and David Hull have argued that species are individuals. This claim is shown to be against the spirit of much modern biology. It is concluded that species are natural kinds of a sort, and that any 'objectivity' they possess comes from their being at the focus of a consilience of inductions.
    Natural KindsBiological Natural KindsThe Metaphysics of Species
  •  37
    Were Owen and Darwin Naturphilosophen?
    Annals of Science 50 (4): 383-388. 1993.
  •  81
    Philosophy of biology today: No grounds for complacency (review)
    Philosophia 8 (4): 785-796. 1979.
    Philosophy of Biology, General Works
  •  36
    Darwin Studies: Phase Two (review)
    History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 22 (2). 2000.
    History of Biology
  •  24
    Reviews (review)
    with Scott A. Kleiner, Myles Brand, Alex C. Michalos, and Hugh Lehman
    Theory and Decision 2 (3): 291-305. 1972.
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