Edward MacKinnon received an MA in Philosophy from Boston College in 1954, an MA in Physics from Harvard University in 1956, a PhD in Physics from St. Louis University in 1960, and an S.T.L from Weston College, USA, in 1962. He spent two years as a Post Doc in the Philosophy department at Yale University. He taught at Boston College from 1965 to 1971 before moving to California State University, USA, where he taught from 1971 before retiring in 1997. From 1949 to 1971 he was a member of the Jesuit Order. He served on the governing board of the Philosophy of Science Association, on different committees of the Western Division of the American Philosophical Association, as an editor of The Philosophy forum, and as a reviewer for Philosophy of Science, Foundations of Physics, Foundations of Science, and Isis.