James G. Lennox (born January 11, 1948) is an emeritus professor in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

, United States, with secondary appointments in the departments of Classics and Philosophy. He is a leader in the study of Aristotelian science in light of his groundbreaking work on Aristotle's biology and philosophy of biology. In particular, Lennox's work in the 1980s catalyzed a renewed interest in Aristotle's biology by arguing that his natural historical works are consistent with and even demonstrative of the scientific methodology he lays out in the '' Posterior Analytics''. Lennox's work on

teleology Teleology (from and )Partridge, Eric. 1977''Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English'' London: Routledge, p. 4187. or finalityDubray, Charles. 2020 912Teleology" In ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'' 14. New York: Robert Appleton ...

in the

history of biology The history of biology traces the study of the living world from ancient to modern times. Although the concept of ''biology'' as a single coherent field arose in the 19th century, the biological sciences emerged from traditions of medicine a ...

, particularly in the thought of

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...

, has also been influential. Canadian by birth, Lennox is a founding member of the Ayn Rand Society, affiliated with the

American Philosophical Association The American Philosophical Association (APA) is the main professional organization for philosophers in the United States. Founded in 1900, its mission is to promote the exchange of ideas among philosophers, to encourage creative and scholarl ...

, Eastern Division, and has served frequently on its steering committee. He has also served as the director for the

Center for Philosophy of Science The Center for Philosophy of Science is an academic center located at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, dedicated to research in the philosophy of science. The center was founded by Adolf Grünbaum in 1960. The current direc ...

at the University of Pittsburgh, the program committee chair for the

International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science The International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science (HOPOS) is a philosophical organization for promoting the study of the history of philosophy of science. The society promotes exchange of ideas among scholars through meetings, jour ...

, and has served on the editorial board of the '' History of Philosophy Quarterly'' and ''

Philosophy of Science Philosophy of science is a branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. The central questions of this study concern what qualifies as science, the reliability of scientific theories, and the ult ...

'', among other journals. Fellowships include a senior fellowship at the Istituto di Studi Avanzati in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

and a visiting fellowship at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

, where he is a life member of Clare Hall. He also received the Biggs Resident Scholar award in 2010 and was the Dyason Lecturer at the University of Brisbane in 2009, and has received grants from the NEH and the NSF. He previously served as the director of the

from 1997 to 2005. His areas of research include Ancient Greek philosophy,

science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

and

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

, and

. His most recent publication is ''Aristotle on Inquiry: Erotetic Frameworks and Domain-Specific Norms'' (Cambridge, 2021), an account of Aristotle's approach to scientific inquiry.

Bibliography

*''Concepts and their Role in Knowledge: Reflections on Objectivist Epistemology'' (ed), (with

Allan Gotthelf Allan Stanley Gotthelf (December 30, 1942 – August 30, 2013) was an American philosopher. He was a scholar of the philosophies of both Aristotle and Ayn Rand. Academic career Allan Stanley Gotthelf was born in Brooklyn, New York (state), New Y ...

University of Pittsburgh Press The University of Pittsburgh Press is a scholarly publishing house and a major American university press, part of the University of Pittsburgh. The university and the press are located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The press ...

, 2013 *''Being, Nature, and Life in Aristotle: Essays in Honor of Allan Gotthelf'' (ed), (with Robert Bolton),

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pre ...

, 2011 *''

Metaethics In metaphilosophy and ethics, meta-ethics is the study of the nature, scope, and meaning of moral judgment. It is one of the three branches of ethics generally studied by philosophers, the others being normative ethics (questions of how one ought ...

, Egoism, and Virtue: Studies in Ayn Rand's Normative Theory'' (Ayn Rand Society Philosophical Studies) (assoc ed), (with

as ed.),

, 2010 *''Aristotle: On the Parts of Animals I-IV (Clarendon Aristotle Series)''

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2002 , *''Aristotle's Philosophy of Biology: Studies in the Origins of Life Science'' (Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Biology)

, 2000 , *''Self-Motion: From Aristotle to Newton'' (ed), (with

Mary Louise Gill Mary Louise Gill is the David Benedict Professor of Classics and Philosophy at Brown University. Her work primarily focuses on Plato, Aristotle, and other (primarily Greek) ancient philosophers. Education and career Gill received a bachelor's ...

Princeton University Press Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large. The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financia ...

, 1994 , *''Philosophical Issues in Aristotle's Biology'' (ed), (with

, 1987

References

External links

University of Pittsburgh profileAyn Rand Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lennox, James G. 1948 births Living people 20th-century American philosophers 21st-century American philosophers Objectivism scholars Objectivists University of Pittsburgh faculty Atheist philosophers American atheists