About the lab

Philosophy is traditionally an individualistic pursuit driven by armchair reflections. Although there is certainly a place for this kind of philosophy, I feel that philosophy of biology is best approached through collaborative efforts within philosophy and across the disciplinary divides. I thus draw from the sciences and promote a “lab” culture in my students and postdocs by encouraging both individual-level pursuits, but also larger, lab-level collaborative pursuits.

I have won awards for my teaching and for my research (see my CV) and am passionate about both. I am always on the lookout for talented undergrads wishing to pursue a PhD in the philosophy of biology and for graduate students interested in a postdoc position in my lab. If you are interested in joining my lab as a doctoral student or postdoc, please send me an email at grant@theramseylab.org.

Lab placement

Bendik Aaby: Bendik defended his dissertation in the spring of 2021 and started a posdoc at KU Leuven that fall. In 2023 he started a position as an instructor at the University of Oslo.

Michael Deem: In 2015 Michael accepted a tenure-track job at Indiana State University where he was Assistant Professor of Philosophy and an affiliated faculty member in The Center for Genomic Advocacy. He was on leave from ISU his first year while he spent the year as Pediatric Bioethics and Genomics Postdoctoral Fellow at Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics. In 2017 he joined the faculty at Duquesne University, where he was an Assistant Professor, holding a joint appointment in the School of Nursing and the Center for Healthcare Ethics. In 2021, he accepted a position as Associate Professor (with tenure) in the Center for Bioethics and Health Law at the University of Pittsburgh. See his Lab research on the people tab or here.

Lane DesAutels: Lane came to Notre Dame after earning his Ph.D. at the University of Maryland under the tutelage of Lindley Darden. We worked together until 2016 when Lane accepted a tenure-track job Missouri Western University State University where he is now Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion. Visit his website to learn more about his work.

Hugh Desmond: In 2017, Hugh accepted a postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Biomedical Ethics and Law, KU Leuven. He is now an assistant professor Wageningen University. See his Lab research on the people tab or here.

James DiFrisco: James worked with me as a postdoc at KU Leuven. In 2023 he took a position as Group Leader at the Crick Institute. See his Lab research on the people tab or here.

Alejandro Gordillo-Garcia: Alex defended his dissertation in the fall of 2023 and started a posdoc at the University of Padua that fall.

Charles Pence: Charles is the first Ramsey Lab alumnus. During his time at Notre Dame he helped develop the evoText project and worked extensively on conceptual issues at the foundation of evolutionary theory. In 2014 he defended his dissertation, Chance in Evolutionary Theory: Fitness, Selection, and Genetic Drift in Philosophical and Historical Perspective, and accepted a tenure-track job at LSU’s Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies. In January 2019 he joined the Université Catholique de Louvain as an Assistant Professor. He was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2022. See his Lab research on the people tab or at his website.

Anne Siebels Peterson: Anne’s dissertation was advised by Michael Loux but she teamed up with the Ramsey Lab to work on philosophy of biology, especially conceptual issues related to homology. In 2014 she accepted a tenure-track job at The Department of Philosophy at the University of Utah. She was granted tenure in 2020. See her Lab research on the people tab.

About me

I grew up in the wilds of northern California, where I developed a deep appreciation for nature and a love of science. I attended college at The Evergreen State College, spending much time in the field studying rocks, plants, and insects. At Evergreen I developed a passion for interdisciplinary studies and discovered the field of philosophy of biology. I then pursued graduate school in philosophy of biology at Duke University, studying under Robert Brandon and Alex Rosenberg. Upon completing my PhD from Duke, I took a job at the University of Notre Dame where until June 2015 I held an Assistant Professorship in the Department of Philosophy and was faculty in the Program in History and Philosophy of Science and a Reilly Fellow at the Reilly Center for Science, Technology, and Values. Beginning August 2015 I was a fellow at the National Humanities Center. My new permanent academic home (which began July 2016) is the Institute of Philosophy at KU Leuven, where I hold a BOFZAP Research Professor position.

About the rhino illustration

The rhinoceros on the Home page was drawn in 1510 by Albrecht Dürer. I love this illustration for several reasons in addition to its manifest beauty. As a philosopher of biology I find it interesting that it was illustrated in the absence of any first-hand experience with (or photographs of) real rhinos. Instead, it is drawn from a description and sketch of a rhino. It is thus a concept-driven illustration, and it is fascinating to see which details he got right and which are far from reality. I also like that it is an illustration of Rhinoceros unicornus, the Asian one-horned rhino. Back in 2000, I was attacked by a member of this species while trekking through the Royal Chitwan National Park in southern Nepal—I therefore have great respect for these animals.