One of the best of all American writers - I'd put him up with Twain - has died, leaving us all the poorer.
HT: Dynamics of Cats
One man's struggle against impermanence
John Wilkins is an aged, eternal student, who thinks philosophy of biology is at least as interesting as politics or sport and twice as important. He has a PhD from the University of Melbourne and a position as a Postdoctoral Fellow Sessional Lecturer at the University of Queensland, in Australia. After a varied career, involving factories, gardening, civil service, publishing, graphics, public relations but not, unfortunately for the CV, driving a truck, John finally completed his thesis on species concepts in 2004, which he has worked into two books. Species Definitions: A Sourcebook (Peter Lang) will come out in 2008; Species: A History of an Idea (University of California Press) will appear, it is hoped, in early 2009. He is also interested in cultural evolution, philosophy of religion, Macintosh computers and his kids.
If anyone knows of a tenurable, or even medium term, job in philosophy of biology, let me know. Have library, will travel. The contract ran out ...
This blog is designed to host any random thoughts that happen to be passing through my forebrain at a given moment. So there will be errors...
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Foundations of Systematics and Biogeography
Re-Engineering Philosophy for Limited Beings: Piecewise Approximations to Reality
Adaptive Thinking: Rationality in the Real World (Evolution and Cognition Series)
Conceptual Issues in Evolutionary Biology, 3rd Edition (Bradford Books)
My personal page is here:
The previous instantiation of this blog is accessible here.
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Category: History • Humor • Logic and philosophy
Posted on: April 12, 2007 1:00 AM, by John S. Wilkins
One of the best of all American writers - I'd put him up with Twain - has died, leaving us all the poorer.
HT: Dynamics of Cats

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Comments
Mr Vonnegurt is my all time number one favourite philosopher and allways a ball to read. Bye Kurt.
Posted by: Thony C. | April 12, 2007 2:22 AM
Very sad.
Posted by: Jason | April 12, 2007 9:18 AM
I was kind of expecting this, however.
Posted by: John Pieret | April 12, 2007 5:42 PM
Don't be too sad. Taking the fourth-dimensional point of view of the Tralfamadorians in Slaughterhouse-Five, he is gone in this moment. But he is still present in many other moments.
His genius is still present in his books.
Posted by: Michael Burton | April 12, 2007 7:30 PM
"The only way I know God exists is through music" He did not claim it to be his opwn, but thought this would be his perfect epitaph.
And so it goes -----
Bill Grundy Melbourne Australia
Posted by: Bill Grundy | April 14, 2007 7:22 AM