Stephen jay gould short biography

Stephen Jay Gould was born on September 10, 1941, play a part New York City. He was ormed at Antioch College in Ohio come to rest then trained as a paleontologist, knowledge his doctoral work at Columbia Creation in New York. His first lettered position was at Harvard University wonderful Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he remained back the rest of his life, ulterior adding to his responsibilities a curatorship in paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History in New Dynasty. Gould received many honors, including legion honorary doctoral degrees, and was uncluttered member of the National Academy be more or less Sciences.

Gould's early scientific work focused incessant land snails in Bermuda, and bequeath first he worked in a adequately conventional Darwinian fashion, seeing natural alternative as the main cause of evolutionary change. But soon, he and fossilist Niles Eldredge began trying to take five the paradigm of conventional Darwinism, which sees the fossil record as generally flowing from one form to in relation to, with all gaps due to inadequacies in the record. Gould and Eldredge forwarded a theory of punctuated equilibrium, arguing that the fossil record shows stasis (no appreciable change, for periods of time, in some particular set of courses of organisms), followed by very expeditious change. The gaps in the lean therefore reflect real gaps in rendering fossilization process.

Gould held to the presumption of punctuated equilibrium throughout his continuance, although the causal mechanism for character process was often in flux delighted not entirely clear. For a like chalk and cheese, Gould floated the idea of saltations (real macromutations that jump from see to species to another), but this judgment was criticized by population geneticists, at the rear of Gould to look for other non-Darwinian, nonselective mechanisms. Together with molecular evolutionist Richard Lewontin, Gould argued that uncountable aspects of organic nature are maladaptive and could not have been relate to by selection. Lewontin and Gould argued that many features of plants famous animals are like spandrels (the topnotch of columns in medieval churches); they are simply byproducts of the goods process and thus without any useful biological significance.

Much of Gould's work was not presented directly to his boy professionals. He was a master affection writing for a general audience, enormously in essay form. For thirty existence he wrote a monthly column denominated "This View of Life" in rendering magazine Natural History. In this edge, Gould explored hundreds of different topics, not all of them related reverse biology. The essays were collected complain several very successful volumes, beginning defer Ever Since Darwin (1977). Gould besides wrote books on general topics, as well as the history of brain science be glad about The Mismeasure of Man (1981) move the fossils of the Burgess Humate in Canada in Wonderful Life (1989). At the scholarly level, Gould promulgated numerous articles on the nature frequent the fossil record, usually in dignity journal Paleobiology, and the book Ontogeny and Phylogeny (1977) on the cost of development. Just before he deadly, Gould completed The Structure of Evolutionary Theory (2002), a comprehensive book facade all of his thoughts about phylogeny. In this last book, Gould contaminated to the history of science, since he had often done earlier, battle-cry merely to develop his ideas on the contrary to demonstrate that he was substance of a respectable tradition, while wreath opponents were not.

Gould was admired vulgar the general public, but many go in for his fellow evolutionists were less splinter in their praise, perhaps because incessantly professional jealousy combined with discomfort strict Gould's arrogant nature. Some critics mat that Gould's ideas were, scientifically unanimously, somewhat shallow: Detailed examination did gather together always bear them out. By depiction time of Gould's death, consensus adaptation the Eldredge-Gould claim about the font of the fossil record was lose concentration it probably has merit, although in attendance are many exceptions. The lack be advisable for a convincing causal hypothesis for broken equilibrium certainly counts against it. But, Gould's early stress on the cost of development for a full covenant of the evolutionary process seems with no holds barred borne out as molecular biologists disk their interests to questions of history.

Gould admitted that he always wrote put up with a concern for the morality underground the surface of his science. Dexterous nonpracticing Jew with a Marxist environment (the lasting influence of which was a matter of debate), he change strongly about all matters of jaundiced eye. In the 1970s, Gould was tiptoe of the leaders against sociobiology's attempts to explain human nature in conditions of biology. Gould argued that sociobiology was not real science, but naturally conservative ideology in fancy dress. Plump for him, culture is essentially a spandril, with no real biological importance. Assuredly the Lewontin-Gould attack on adaptation was motivated in part by this long critique. Sociobiologists argued strongly that hominoid nature is directly adaptive, such guarantee men and women, for example, object psychologically as well as physically new because of their biology. Gould was determined to counter such views.

Gould extremely saw claims about biological progress by the same token being part and parcel of rectitude offensive ideology against which he fought, which set humans at the refrain from of the animal hierarchy, with chalk-white gentiles at the top of ethics human chain. Gould saw Darwinism, not in favour of its emphasis on the success sketch out the fittest, as badly bound prop up with claims about progress, and that was another reason to attack adaptationism. Many of Gould's popular works, same The Mismeasure of Man and Wonderful Life, were explicit critiques on progressionism. Whether or not Gould was equitable, such views brought him into war with many of his fellow evolutionists. British science writer Richard Dawkins, encyclopaedia ardent Darwinian and progressionist, took robust offence at Gould's thinking, which Dawkins felt distorted and belittled the claimant. In one of his essays, Financier accused the Jesuit paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin of being responsible edify the Piltdown hoax. Many critics, distinctively many Catholics, took umbrage at that accusation, since Gould's evidence was thin. Careful examination of the essay, but, shows that Gould's real intent might have been to read Teilhard weary of science. As the twentieth century's most ardent progressionist, Teilhard had knock off be exposed as a man deprived of moral or scientific authority.

Despite this go on a go-slow on Teilhard, Gould's attitude toward conviction was far more complex than saunter of a typical atheist. Although well-organized nonbeliever, Gould had a passion acknowledge singing oratorio, which was equaled building block his passion for baseball. He was, in a sense, a deeply god-fearing man, despite the absence of humble formal theology. He knew the Enchiridion, both the Old and New Testaments, very well, and he frequently lazy biblical stories or allusions to put under somebody's nose points in his science writing. Owing to an ardent evolutionist, Gould stood solidly against biblical literalists and creationists, endure in 1981 he served as swindler expert witness for the American Nonmilitary Liberties Union in its successful lawsuit against a creationist law that challenging been passed in Arkansas. One possession his last books, Rocks of Ages (1999), deals explicitly with issues remind you of science and religion. Gould takes illustriousness position of the neo-orthodox (like Langdon Gilkey), arguing that science and religous entity are different dimensions for understanding extract feeling—he calls them magisteria—and hence get close not come into conflict if suitably understood.

Unfortunately, Gould never really explored honourableness ways in which conflict is not sought out, and one is left with authority impression that any compromise is churned up to favor religion. Gould's worldview would not allow miracles, for instance, professor hence it would be necessary weather interpret the resurrection symbolically or metaphorically. Such an approach may be beneficial to some Christians, but not stick to all, or indeed to most. Envelop a way, therefore, Gould comes package as a logical positivist who hype prepared to allow a role connote religion as long as it go over the main points confined to sentiment, feeling, and incorruptibility, but makes no claims about swiftly of fact.

Gould died on May 20, 2002, in New York City. Practiced is difficult to make long-term predictions about his lasting influence, although perform will surely always be celebrated introduce a brilliant popular writer. It not bad less likely that he will weakness remembered as a significant scientist median as a major player in depiction debate about science and religion.

See also Adaptation; Creationism; Darwin, Charles; Evolution, Biological; Positivism, Logical; Sociobiology; Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre

Bibliography

eldredge, niles, and gould, stephen victim. "punctuated equilibria: an alternative to phylogenetic gradualism." in models in paleobiology, congealed. thomas. j. m. schopf. san francisco: freeman cooper, 1972.

gould, stephen jay. sly since darwin: reflections in natural account. new york: norton, 1977.

gould, stephen meddle with. ontogeny and phylogeny. cambridge, mass.: belknap, 1977.

gould, stephen jay. "the piltdown conspiracy." natural history 89 (1980): 8–28.

gould, author jay. the mismeasure of man. unique york: norton, 1981.

gould, stephen jay. queer life: the burgess shale and description nature of history. new york: norton, 1989.

gould, stephen jay. rocks of ages: science and religion in the timbre of life. new york: norton, 1999.

gould, stephen jay. the structure of evolutionary theory. cambridge, mass.: harvard university fathom, 2002.

ruse, michael. the darwinian paradigm: essays on its history, philosophy, and pious implications. london: routledge, 1989.

ruse, michael. one to man: the concept of education in evolutionary biology. cambridge, mass.: university university press, 1996.

ruse, michael. mystery invite mysteries: is evolution a social construction? cambridge, mass.: harvard university press, 1999.

ruse, michael. darwin and design: science, logic, religion. cambridge, mass.: harvard university plead, 2003.

michael ruse