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Interview

Michael Ruse

Michael Ruse is a well known philosopher of biology. He has written extensively on the relationship between science and religion. His latest book is A Meaning to Life (OUP). Seth Hart asked him about it.

Hello Professor Ruse. My first question is about the title of your new book. I notice that you chose the indefinite A for your title rather than The. Why is it called A Meaning to Life rather than The Meaning of Life?

It was my editor at Oxford University Press, Peter Ohlin, who pushed that one: he said, “Mike, you’re not writing a scholarly monograph.” For a scholarly monograph the first two chapters would be devoted to what other people have said on the topic, a little bit like what you’d do in a PhD dissertation.

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