Stephen Jay Gould
Also known as Stephen J. Gould
American paleontologist and science writer (1941 to 2002); proposed punctuated equilibrium.
At a glance
Main ideas
Punctuated equilibrium, Spandrels, Exaptation …
See all 5Criticism
John Maynard Smith, Richard Dawkins
See all 2Books to start with
Ontogeny and Phylogeny, The Mismeasure of Man, Full House …
See all 4Connections
Daniel Dennett, Darwin's Dangerous Idea and 2 others
See all 4
Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Gould was a paleontologist and evolutionary biologist who taught at Harvard from 1967 until his death.
- With Niles Eldredge he developed punctuated equilibrium: long stability broken by quick bursts of speciation.
- He argued against overemphasising natural selection and against biological determinism.
- He wrote 300 essays for Natural History magazine and many popular books, and opposed creationism.
Why it matters
- One of the most widely read science writers of his generation, and a central voice in arguments over evolution, adaptation and what biology can say about people.
Key facts
- Born
- 10 Sep 1941, Queens, New York1
- Died
- 20 May 2002, at his SoHo loft, of metastatic lung cancer1
- Education
- Antioch College, geology and philosophy (1963); graduate work at Columbia under Norman Newell, completed in 19671
- Harvard
- From 1967 to 2002; Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology from 19821
- NYU
- Vincent Astor Visiting Research Professor of Biology from 1996 to 20021
- Natural History
- 300 essays in the series This View of Life, from January 1974 to January 20011
- Offices
- President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science from 1999 to 20011
- Honours
- National Academy of Sciences (1989); Library of Congress Living Legend (2000); Darwin–Wallace Medal (2008, posthumous)1
Main ideas
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Punctuated equilibrium1
With Niles Eldredge (1972): most species are stable for long periods, with change in short bursts of speciation.
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Spandrels1
With Richard Lewontin (1979): many traits are by-products, not adaptations selected for.
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Exaptation1
With Elisabeth Vrba: features co-opted for a use they did not evolve for.
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Against biological determinism1
He criticised sociobiology and evolutionary psychology's accounts of human behaviour.
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Non-overlapping magisteria1
Science and religion should not comment on each other's realm.
Criticism
Books to start with
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Ontogeny and Phylogeny1
Development and evolution; widely recognised by his field.
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A history and critique of measuring intelligence as one number.
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Full House1
Against the idea of progress in evolution.
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The Structure of Evolutionary Theory1
His long treatise on evolution, published shortly before his death.
Connections
Related
- Daniel DennettPersonLong dispute over adaptationism; Gould called his view "Darwinian fundamentalism"
- Darwin's Dangerous IdeaBookCriticised at length in the chapter "Bully for Brontosaurus"; Gould called it an "ultra-Darwinian manifesto"
- E. O. WilsonPersonHis Harvard colleague, a leading critic of sociobiology
Links
Sources
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