Thursday, May 23, 2002
Stephen Jay Gould
Stephen Gould, one of the worlds most recognized scientists, died this past Monday of cancer at age 60. Gould was most famous for his writings on evolutionary theory and paleontology. He also championed the teaching of evolution in schools and was against creationism being taught along side it. Gould argued that evolution didn't happen at a slow steady rate but was in fact punctuated with rapid bursts of changes. In some of his later writings he attempted to reconcile science and religion by putting forth the opinion that the two could coexist in harmony. His thought was that religion was about ethics and values and science was about facts, both are needed but don't have much to do with one another. I would certainly tend to disagree if only because religion tries to present itself as fact and many times a scientific fact in itself. Regardless of whether you agree with him or not he will be missed in a world where known scientists are a vanishing item in our culture. god speed?
Stephen Gould, one of the worlds most recognized scientists, died this past Monday of cancer at age 60. Gould was most famous for his writings on evolutionary theory and paleontology. He also championed the teaching of evolution in schools and was against creationism being taught along side it. Gould argued that evolution didn't happen at a slow steady rate but was in fact punctuated with rapid bursts of changes. In some of his later writings he attempted to reconcile science and religion by putting forth the opinion that the two could coexist in harmony. His thought was that religion was about ethics and values and science was about facts, both are needed but don't have much to do with one another. I would certainly tend to disagree if only because religion tries to present itself as fact and many times a scientific fact in itself. Regardless of whether you agree with him or not he will be missed in a world where known scientists are a vanishing item in our culture. god speed?
