[4] Magnus completed his undergraduate work at the University of California at Riverside, where he majored in philosophy.
He completed his graduate work at Stanford University, receiving a PhD in philosophy.
He has also consulted for both the World Bank on food security and biotechnology and the National Conference of State Legislatures on cloning.
Magnus also served as the principal editor of a collection of essays entitled Who Owns Life?
[8] In addition to his scholarly work, he has published opinion pieces in the Chicago Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Star-Ledger, and the San Jose Mercury News.