Tribute to Jon Hodge

I was fortunate enough to be taught by Jon for my MA in HPS at Leeds in the late 1990s. He taught me history of science but ended up completely changing the way I thought about philosophy. A remarkable person. Also, a very nice one.

Jon and I had some rather amusing times together. One especially comes to mind. I had been trying to imitate Mark McManus's Glaswegian accent at the HPS morning tea break just before McManus suddenly died. When that happened, I went in and said that my tutor had just died. And Jon came out spontaneously with 'Thank God; Oh, I didn't mean that the way it sounded.' Until that moment, I don't think I had any idea that my attempt at a Glaswegian accent was a complete failure as no one had commented on it; but I laughed my head off at Jon's comment. We had a number of humorous moments like that over the years. He will be missed.

I met Jon when I was doing my MA at Leeds, and got to know him whilst doing my PhD. A powerhouse of knowledge, he was always insightful and well read when giving feedback or tips. More importantly, he was kind and open, as willing to listen as to speak. He welcomed those of us at the start of our research, offering help and support at the same time as respecting our abilities. He was a much loved and respected member of the Leeds HPS group, despite having been retired for a decade before I even met him! My deepest sympathies to his family and friends. May memories of him be a blessing.

Jon was responsible for introducing me to the history and philosophy of biology when I first arrived at Leeds to do my MA in HPS having just graduated with a degree in molecular and cell biology. He was a towering figure. Gentle, patient, and kind, but also very opinionated and firm in his views. When I spoke of him to others who didn't know him, I would describe him as a 'walking encyclopaedia'. The depth and breadth of his knowledge was boundless; he could speak in a commanding way about just about anything, from Neopythagorean influences on French comparative anatomy to Boltzmann's statistical reinterpretation of the second law of thermodynamics. Hearing Jon talk shop was always an education. But he never flaunted his wisdom; what ever he said was invariably in the service of the conversation he was having. He was also extremely funny and witty. One of the reasons I looked forward to ISH every other summer was because I knew I would be able to catch up with Jon and pick his brains about whatever new topic I was working on. I regret not having told him how much I owe to him. He really was one of a kind.

It was Jon (with Jerry) who made me a historian of science; an inch away from a counterfactual me, excited by Jon's enthusiasm at the freshers' fair HPS table I took a first year subsidiary subject in HPS in 1979. He taught me in first year philosophy of science: a memorably effective - and funny - lecturer, with his acerbic take on Popper's account of himself: 'Plato, Aristotle, Popper'; 'Moses, Jesus, Poppper'! I was lucky to come back to the department as a research fellow just under a decade ago, and it was a true pleasure to talk with Jon, and to convey my thanks to him for inducting me into the field that has been my life.

Generous. Encouraging. Kind. Funny. Wise. Many of the thoughts shared here by Jon’s colleagues and students pick out the same characteristics that I saw from my viewpoint as a friend of one of his daughters. Jon and Anne were always welcoming to Cynthia’s friends and their kindness and humour has made it a real pleasure to keep in touch with them over the years. Jon had the lovely quality of making you feel like he was always pleased to see you and interested to hear how you were and what you were doing. Thirty years on from making a decision to divert from Neuroscience to doing a Linguistics MPhil, I still have the Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Language that arrived out of the blue at my house from Heffers Booksellers (back in the day when it still seemed unusual to have shops deliver something to your home). I have just taken it off the shelf and I’ve kept the compliment slip in it, that reminds me that it was sent on behalf of Dr M. J. S. Hodge, University of Leeds. What a kind and generous thing to do for your daughter’s friend and what a lovely man.

When I finally put down my pipette and quit life as a research fellow in molecular biology to study for a masters in HPS, I found myself on a very steep learning curve with many challenges. But throughout this tough intellectual rollercoaster ride, Jon was an absolute rock - a great source of unflagging inspiration, encouragement and support. One of the greatest lessons he taught me was in a public lecture he gave with Dr. Laura Sellers in the popular ‘History and Philosophy of Science in 20 Objects’ series in 2016 where his take-home-message to the audience was to beware the siren-song of seductively over-simplistic stories in a complex world. It was intended at the time as a lesson in thinking critically about popular narratives when studying the history of science, but as I look at the world around us in 2025, I find that Jon’s words have a relevance and urgency that echo far, far beyond the seminar rooms and lecture theatres of academia. Thanks Jon, you'll be missed.

As a recent arrival as a mature post grad at Leeds i was in awe of Jon. Over the summer i attended an online lecture on Darwinism ( a topic not in my area) and saw him deconstruct an argument with skill, clarity and most of all kindness for the presenter. I wish i had been given the opportunity to meet him more. As a Quaker i think of the saying in Advice and Guidance': Death is but crossing the world as friends do the seas, they live in one another still.' It is clear from the thoughts and memories of Jon here that he will live on in his friends left behind.

In my thesis acknowledgements I wrote "During my time at Leeds, I was fortunate to benefit from the unofficial supervision of Jon Hodge whose encyclopaedic knowledge of the history of philosophy and of science, and his great generosity, have been of invaluable help". This doesn't even begin to capture how kind, funny, and intellectually inspiring Jon was. His curiosity and generosity extended to everyone he met. I remember us bonding over our shared Somerset heritage, but also French philosophy and of course the history of biology. I left every conversation with Jon having gained new perspectives on all manner of things. For a young, and often nervous PhD student, he was a reassuring presence. I think of him often and will continue to do so.

I owe my first, and only, academic job to Jon's decision to leave the new Institute in Toronto, so we were colleagues at great distance in the days before the internet, but his thick and profound articles about the development of Darwin's ideas were important parts of my education in the history of biology. When I began to write on Darwin myself a few years ago, his responses to my emails were swift and encouraging. Where some academics would defend their own turf, Jon welcomed discussion. His impact on our field is permanent.

Jon often gave me a lift from Harrogate into Leeds in his (beloved) Subaru, and we would chat about anything, but of course often about Darwin, Mayr and the philosophy of biology. I always learnt something interesting from him. He also introduced us to Ukrainian church music. He contributed materially to making Leeds a world centre of HPS, and will be much missed.

When I moved to the University of Leeds in 1978, Jon got in touch with me, and started an unusual tutorial relationship (resolution of doubt for anyone, it was me that was the pupil). He encouraged me to attend HPS seminars, and he and I would regularly meet for lunch at the cafe in what was then the Leeds Playhouse. He educated me in broad fields: non-Whiggish analysis, what Darwin was really doing, etc.. Wonderfully, when he was attending international seminars, in the USA and Germany chiefly, he arranged for me to be invited as a participant. Our friendship also embraced my being invited round to his and Anne's house in Harrogate when an international worker or two was visiting. Summing up: this biologist by training got enough experience to be contributing to the published proceedings of international hist. & phil. symposia. This continued right up to his last illness, when we corresponded about Alfred Noyes' The Torch Bearers, a theistic account of the history of science: our brief debate was long in its own way. A true and wonderful friend.

I met Jon as a superannuated graduate student at an ISH conference. He always treated me with the utmost kindness and respect, offering support, encouragement, and the occasional gentle corrective. He read my work and offered thoughtful, generous, and substantive comments. A truly lovely man. And of course a great scholar. I will miss him.

Others are able to speak in a more informed manner about Jon Hodge's scholarly achievements. I would simply like to record the fact that I consider myself very fortunate to have known Jon while I was a postgraduate in HPS at Leeds (1977-84). I benefited greatly from his historiographical iconoclasm, his willingness to share his knowledge of obscure archival sources and his sage advice regarding the direction that my research should take. I have also forgiven him for taking a dim view of my enthusiasm for the recordings of Glenn Gould, which Jon thought was solely due to my being a Canadian.

It is with shock and great sadness that I have just learnt of Jonathan Hodge’s passing. We were colleagues for some 33 years in the small Division of History & Philosophy of Science at the University of Leeds. He was an ideal colleague: a person of great integrity and humanity, always willing to engage with colleagues and students and help them not only with academic problems but also with personal issues. He was gentle, amusing, exceedingly friendly and accessible – perhaps reflecting his Quaker background. Talking with him for even a few minutes at the tea trolley or in the Foyer, you came away feeling morally and intellectually refreshed. Jon greatly enjoyed communicating knowledge to others; he was an excellent lecturer, who inspired many students. He flourished as a researcher on Darwin and talked enthusiastically about his work in that and related topics. He saw research as a communal activity and many of his publications were co-authored with colleagues and especially other Darwin scholars. I had the pleasure and honour of co-editing 2 books with him – Conceptions of Ether and (with Bob Olby and John Christie) the Leeds Companion. He did not esteem the administrative hassles of academia but was thoroughly immersed in teaching and researching the subjects he loved. He was greatly admired and will be greatly missed.

Jon was a fabulously original scholar who shaped my views of the history of evolution. In the days before smart phones, I once found myself having an energetic phone conversation with him about Darwin while I standing in a Berlin phone booth in the pouring rain! Back when Leeds and Durham used to have joint HPS workshops, we continued that conversation, sometimes while riding across the countryside in search of a pub. He will certainly be missed.

My introduction to MJS Hodge came from a graduate seminar taught by another giant in the field, namely Marjorie Grene. If you were lucky enough to know her you would know she never minced words and did not suffer any fools gladly. She assigned one reading by him, that famous review of Stauffer published in the British Journal for the History of Science. It was only ten pages in length, but it dominated the discussion for the entire semester as we read Darwin's Origin and placed it in its 19th century philosophical context. Marjorie never talked about him as a person, but just referred to him as "Hodge," usually with an exclamation mark (you had to know her to know what I mean by this but it just etched his surname in my mind that I still think of him as "Hodge" but now with affection). I remember thinking what kind of scholar could write a review that would generate enough substance to provide a discussion for an entire semester? Answer: someone so knowledgeable with the topic at hand, but in possession of an exceedingly incisive mind. I've never forgotten that review especially the way he put it together (in only those ten pages). He could pack a real punch and it set an example for me, and I believe for many others--who cares about big thick books that don't take you very far, when you can write a review, an article, a brief monograph that can take you to entirely new places or shake things up? That was Hodge's style. He was no careerist, and did not write stuff just to get ahead, but to contribute something to a field that was already pretty crowded even 40 years ago; and though he offered advice on some career matters after I did manage to meet him a few years later, he did so with humility, very much aware that he didn't play the game like many others--he was in it for the ideas, and only the ideas. You could feel this when you were with him--he was a keen listener, always interested in other people's work and especially in younger people. Everyone who knew him recognized the kindness of the man, the spirit of generosity, that was combined with a soaring intellect and curiosity--It never ended, I'm happy to say; "Hodge" was the perpetual learner, excited about ideas, and keen to engage them, and very directly--no guile, no artifice, none of that academic pretense or posturing that is depressingly common. I am so grateful to zoom, which allowed me to join a seminar in Leeds last year or so, that allowed me to see him in action again, one last time. With others in the community, I mourn the loss, but believe his legacy continues, especially in the many people who were lucky to know Jon, and benefit from his tireless interest in all matters pertaining to Darwin and evolutionary biology.

I first met Jon in his role as PG Admissions Advisor in 1991, and over the following years from PhD to first post he was always a calm source of warm encouragement.

I met Jon as a mature aged doctoral student at ISH, and he was very encouraging and helpful. I mentioned to him that I had been worried that Mayr would use his rhetorical skills to destroy me upon the publication of my thesis, but he assured me of Mayr's generosity for students and recent graduates, and told me a story about how he and Mayr had given a talk in Paris, and Mayr told Jon to disagree forcefully with his presentation, and that it would scandalise their colleagues (at the Museum of Natural History, I think), as the convention was that students would never publicly dispute their advisors. They did, and they were. May his memory be a blessing, as they say.

When I met Jon, decades ago when I was a student, the sense of being enveloped in vast learning was immediate and would have been thoroughly intimidating were it not for the fact that he was so kind and supportive, and made everything I said in response (which was nothing, really) into something interesting and worthwhile. It was awe-inspiring and endearing and the same every time after that. I never really understood why he might want to talk to me at all (our projects were so different) until it finally occurred to me: he was simply and truly a beautiful person.

Jon was an amazing academic and an amazing man. A big inspiration for me during my MA and PhD years at Leeds 2004-2010. I vividly remember him talking with my parents, explaining the evolutionary origins of our weakness for fat and sugar. He put it so well! A huge presence during my formative years. I'll never forget him.

Others will have much to say on what a lovely man Jon was and I agree wholeheartedly. My thought for this part of the website is that Jon was the most generous and insightful of Darwin scholars, such a joy to exchange ideas and essays with him, and unfailingly enthusiastic about the world of knowledge. I am so sorry to hear of his passing. His publications were few and far between but so careful, every sentence worth reading. I was astonished and endlessly grateful when he offered to read a manuscript of mine. How rare it is to meet someone so kind. He was genuinely interested in pushing knowledge of Darwin and related matters forward.

"There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it."