Volume 45, March 2014, Pages 139–147
Volume 45, March 2014, Pages 139–147
Claiming Darwin: Stephen Jay Gould in contests over evolutionary orthodoxy and public perception, 1977–2002
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Highlights
- •
- I track the changing claims on Charles Darwin between evolutionists in the late 20th century.
- •
- I conclude that this reveals a fundamental difference between these evolutionists.
Abstract
This
article analyzes the impact of the resurgence of American creationism
in the early 1980s on debates within post-synthesis evolutionary
biology. During this period, many evolutionists criticized Harvard
biologist Stephen Jay Gould for publicizing his revisions to traditional
Darwinian theory and opening evolution to criticism by creationists.
Gould’s theory of punctuated equilibrium was a significant source of
contention in these disputes. Both he and his critics, including Richard
Dawkins, claimed to be carrying the mantle of Darwinian evolution. By
the end of the 1990s, the debate over which evolutionary thinkers were
the rightful heirs to Darwin’s evolutionary theory was also a
conversation over whether Darwinism could be defended against
creationists in the broader cultural context. Gould and others’ claims
to Darwin shaped the contours of a political, religious and scientific
controversy.
Keywords
- Scientific orthodoxy;
- Darwinism;
- Stephen Jay Gould;
- Creationism;
- Punctuated equilibrium;
- Pseudoscience
Copyright © 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Highlights
- •
- I track the changing claims on Charles Darwin between evolutionists in the late 20th century.
- •
- I conclude that this reveals a fundamental difference between these evolutionists.
Abstract
This
article analyzes the impact of the resurgence of American creationism
in the early 1980s on debates within post-synthesis evolutionary
biology. During this period, many evolutionists criticized Harvard
biologist Stephen Jay Gould for publicizing his revisions to traditional
Darwinian theory and opening evolution to criticism by creationists.
Gould’s theory of punctuated equilibrium was a significant source of
contention in these disputes. Both he and his critics, including Richard
Dawkins, claimed to be carrying the mantle of Darwinian evolution. By
the end of the 1990s, the debate over which evolutionary thinkers were
the rightful heirs to Darwin’s evolutionary theory was also a
conversation over whether Darwinism could be defended against
creationists in the broader cultural context. Gould and others’ claims
to Darwin shaped the contours of a political, religious and scientific
controversy.
Keywords
- Scientific orthodoxy;
- Darwinism;
- Stephen Jay Gould;
- Creationism;
- Punctuated equilibrium;
- Pseudoscience
Copyright © 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
