Marjorie Grene

Marjorie Glicksman Grene (December 13, 1910 – March 16, 2009) was an American philosopher. She wrote on existentialism and the philosophy of science, especially the philosophy of biology. She taught at the University of California at Davis from 1965 to 1978. From 1988 until her death, she was Honorary University Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Virginia Tech. Grene obtained her first degree, in zoology, from Wellesley College in 1931. She then obtained an M.A. and a doctorate in philosophy from Radcliffe College. She studied with Martin Heidegger and Karl Jaspers, leaving Germany in 1933. After a period at the University of Chicago and a hiatus during World War II where she raised a family and farmed, Grene returned to academia. She was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1976. Her work challenged the synthetic theory of evolution, and she co-authored the first history of the philosophy of biology. In recognition of her contributions, the International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology established a prize in her name. In 2002, she was honored with a volume in the prestigious Library of Living Philosophers series.