Research specialties: Ancient Greek philosophy and science, William Harvey, Darwin, and Darwinism. Published widely on history and philosophy of biology focused on scientific inquiry and explanation in historical context.
Selected Courses Taught
- 19th Century Philosophy of Science
- Darwin's Origin
- Aristotle's Conception of Natural Science
Professional Memberships
- International Society for History of Philosophy of Science, member, chair of nominating committee
- International Society for History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology
- Philosophy of Science Association
- History of Science Society
Personal Interests
- Running, cycling, and kayaking
- Cooking and wine
Education & Training
- PhD, Philosophy, University of Toronto, 1978
Representative Publications
"Aristotle on Mind and the Science of Nature," in M. Rossetto, M. Tsianikas, G. Couvalis and M. Palaktsoglou, eds. Greek Research in Australia: Proceedings of the Eighth Biennial International Conference of Greek Studies, Flinders University June 2009, Flinders University Department of Languages - Modern Greek: Adelaide, pp. 1-18
"De caelo II 2 and its Debt to De Incessu Animalium," in Alan C.Bowen and Christian Wildberg, eds., New Perspectives on Aristotle’s De Caelo (Philosophia Antiqua Vol. 117), Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2009, pp. 147-214
"Bios, Praxis and the Unity of Life," Sabine Föllinger, ed. Aristotele: Was ist 'Leben'? Aristoteles' Anschauungen zur Entstehungsweise und Funktion von Leben, Akten der Tagung vom 23.-26. August 2006 in Bamberg, Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag 2009, pp. 239-259
"Form, Essence, and Explanation in Aristotle's Biology," chapter 22 in Georgios Anagnostopoulos, ed. A Companion to Aristotle, London: Blackwell Publishing, 2009, pp. 348-67
"Darwinism and Neo-Darwinism," chapter 5, in Sahotra Sarkar and Anya Plutynski, eds., A Companion to Philosophy of Biology, London: Blackwell, 2008
"'As if we were investigating snubness': Aristotle on the prospects for a single science of nature," Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy, 2008 (Vol. XXXV), pp. 149-18
"The Comparative Study of Animal Development: William Harvey's Aristotelianism," in Justin Smith, ed., The Problem of Animal Generation in Modern Philosophy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006, pp. 21-46
"The Place of Zoology in Aristotle's Natural Philosophy," in R. W. Sharples, ed., Philosophy and the Sciences in Antiquity, London: Ashgate, 2004, pp. 58-70
Aristotle's Philosophy of Biology (Cambridge, 2001)
Aristotle on the Parts of Animals I-IV (Oxford, 2001)
Coeditor, Concepts, Theories, and Rationality in the Biological Sciences (Pittsburgh and Konstanz, 1995)
Coeditor, Self-Motion from Aristotle to Newton (Princeton, 1995)
Coeditor, Philosophical Issues in Aristotle's Biology (Cambridge, 1987)