Stephen Jay Gould

Stephen Jay Gould (September 10, 1941 – May 20, 2002) was a New York-born American paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and historian of science. He was one of the most influential and widely read writers of popular science of his generation. Born Jewish, he did not formally practice any organized religion, and though he was raised in a socialist home he did not become an active socialist himself. He spoke out against what he saw as cultural oppression in all its forms, especially alleged pseudoscience in the service of racism.

Gould as a public figure

Gould became widely known through his popular science essays in Natural History magazine, collections of essays like The Panda's Thumb and The Flamingo's Smile, and extended studies like Wonderful Life and others.

Related Topics:
Natural History - Wonderful Life

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Gould was an emphatic advocate of evolutionary theory and wrote prolifically on the subject, trying to communicate his understanding of contemporary evolutionary theory to a wide audience. A recurring theme in his writings is the history and development of evolutionary (and pre-evolutionary) thinking. His early research involved the study of the fossil record of snails (detailed in one of his essays). He was also an enthusiastic baseball fan and made frequent references to the sport (including an entire essay) and a very wide range of other topics.

Related Topics:
Fossil record - Snail - Baseball

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Although a neo-Darwinist, his emphasis was less gradualist and reductionist than most neo-Darwinists, and he opposed sociobiology. He spent much of his time fighting against creationism (and the related constructs Creation Science and Intelligent Design) and what he regarded as other forms of pseudoscience. Gould used the term Non Overlapping Magisteria (NOMA) to describe how, in his view, science and religion could not comment on each other's realm.

Related Topics:
Neo-Darwinist - Gradualist - Reductionist - Sociobiology - Creationism - Creation Science - Intelligent Design - Pseudoscience

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