John G. Messerly received his PhD in philosophy in 1992. He has taught at St. Louis University and The University of Texas at Austin. He is currently an Affiliated member of the Evolution, Cognition, and Complexity Group localized at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium, and an Affiliate Scholar of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies.

His book, Piaget's Conception of Evolution, was a Choice Outstanding Academic Book, and he contributed the article on Piaget's biology to the Cambridge Companion to Piaget. His current interest is in how trends in technological and cosmic evolution shed light on meaning in life. His publications have appeared in Salon, Scientia Salon and Humanity+ Magazine.