Stephen Jay Gould

Gould.

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Stephen Jay Gould (1941–2002) was an American Harvard paleontologist and evolutionary biologist, best known for his popular scientific books and for his regular monthly column in Natural History magazine. He is widely seen as one of the best communicators of evolutionary ideas to the public.^[1]

Gould also became well known for his advocacy of the Non-Overlapping Magisteria (NOMA) principle. This view argues that science and religion occupy such radically different territories that they have no relevance to one another. Richard Dawkins in his book The God Delusion took great exception to the idea of NOMA, and Sam Harris wrote an entire book (The Moral Landscape^[2]) against the idea.

Extended evolutionary synthesis[edit]

Gould was an early scientist to call for an extended evolutionary synthesis in publications such as Is a New and General Theory of Evolution Emerging? (1980) and Darwinism and the Expansion of Evolutionary Theory (1982).^[3] Gould's final book The Structure of Evolutionary Theory (2002) argued for an “interactor” conception of natural selection, according to which it can act simultaneously at several hierarchical levels—cell lineages, genes, organisms, demes, species, and clades (from Part II, Towards a Revised and Expanded Evolutionary Theory) . He also extended and revised phyletic gradualism into a model of punctuated equilibrium.^[4]

Punctuated equilibrium[edit]

Gould developed with Niles Eldredge a model of evolution called punctuated equilibrium. This theory proposes that evolutionary change is best characterized by long periods of evolutionary stability, which is later punctuated by rare periods of rapid change in the fossil record. Punctuated equilibrium is in contrast to the model of phyletic gradualism, which proposes that evolution is generally smooth and continuous.

He was careful to reject at least one deliberately outlandish suggestion of an example of punctuated equilibrium:

Fifteen species of sparrow were listed when I started my sparrow studies in 1948; this has now grown to twenty-six species. Some years ago I wrote to Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2000 [sic]), the renowned palaeontologist^{[note 1]}, evolutionary biologist and popular science essayist, suggesting that this rapid evolution of new sparrow species lent support to his hypothesis of "punctuated equilibrium", the idea that the evolution of new species occurs in periodic bursts separated by long periods of stasis. He dismissed my proposal with contempt, attributing the increase to no more than "twitcher-driven speciation", a cynical attitude taken by the authors and publishers of new checklists of the birds of the world to stimulate their sales by giving birdwatchers more opportunities to increase their "life lists".^[5]

Spandrels and exaptations[edit]

In an oft-cited 1979 paper, Gould and Richard C. Lewontin coined the term "spandrel" in an evolutionary context. A spandrel is an architectural space created by the design of an archway that appears to be designed but is in fact a by-product of the archway's design. Gould and Lewontin make an analogy to biological traits that appear to be adaptations but are actually by-products of other adaptations.^[6] (This is similar to, but distinct from, Richard Dawkins' notion of "designoid" features.) Gould and Elisabeth Vrba coined the term "exaptation" as a contrast to adaptation. An exaptation is a trait that was not selected for but later co-opted by an organism in a manner that increases fitness.^[7]

Quote-mining[edit]

Because of his support for the theory of episodic evolution rather than gradual evolution Gould is a popular target for creationist quote-miners. For example, creationists often quote Gould as saying that "the fossil record with its abrupt transitions offers no support for gradual change", but forget to take note of the rather essential second part of the quoted sentence: "and the principle of natural selection does not require it — selection can operate rapidly."

The depiction of Gould as sympathetic to creationists via quote mining crosses over the line from laughable to flagrant dishonesty. Gould was known as an outspoken opponent of creationism. Of it, he said "The rise of creationism is politics, pure and simple; it represents one issue (and by no means the major concern) of the resurgent evangelical right. Arguments that seemed kooky just a decade ago have reentered the mainstream."^[8]

See also[edit]

• Richard Dawkins and Gould's criticism of the gene-centered view of evolution

External links[edit]

• The Official Stephen Jay Gould Archive (archive snapshot)
• The Unofficial Stephen Jay Gould Archive (archive snapshot)
• Obituary in the New York Times

Notes[edit]

References[edit]