In over 300 essays for Natural History magazine titled The View of Life, biologist and historian of science, Stephen J. Gould (1941-2002) took his readers on a wonderful, non-linear journey through his ideas on evolution and so much more. Thirty-five of these essays were included in Gould’s 1991 bestseller Bully for Brontosaurus: Reflections in Natural History.
Gould was a brilliant scientist who wrote eloquently on subjects ranging from his expertise of Cerion, a type of land snail, to Joe DiMaggio’s hitting streak while never straying far from using this knowledge to explain evolution in clear and entertaining ways. Gould’s range of interests was legendary as noted by Dr. Sally Walker who studies Cerion at the University of Georgia. On a field trip with Gould, she recalled “that guy can drive down the left side of the road, which is required in the Bahamas, then jump out the door and find Cerion when we can't even see it. Then, this multilingual, internationally respected Renaissance man, student of classical music and astronomy and countless other eclectica, might joyously break out into Gilbert and Sullivan song.” His essays provide the reader with a similar experience.
Along with Niles Eldridge, Gould was the champion of the idea of “punctuated equilibrium,” the idea that most evolution is characterized by long periods of evolutionary stability, infrequently punctuated by swift periods of branching speciation. While this theory has not been accepted by the entire scientific community, even his critics admired his writing which remains relevant due to its lasting impact on evolutionary theory, its ability to engage the public with science and its promotion of critical thinking in scientific inquiry. His work continues to inspire new research and debates in evolutionary biology and related fields.
This SDG will be in person at Gayley.
The core book, Bully for Brontosaurus is divided into 10 sections with each section containing 2 to 6 essays on a theme. In each of the first 12 weeks of this SDG we will read and discuss the essays in each section (two of the sections will require an extra week to cover the material). In the last two weeks of the SDG we will cover the essays on Science and Politics in one of Gould’s earlier collection of essays Hen’s Teeth and Horse’s Toes (1983).
Week 1: History in Evolution
Week 2: Dinomania
Week 3: Adaptation
Week 4: Fads and Fallacies
Week 5: Art and Science
Week 6: Down Under
Week 7: Intellectual Biography (Part 1), Biologists
Week 8: Intellectual Biography (Part 2), Physical Scientists
Week 9: Evolution and Creation (Part 1), The World of T.H. Huxley
Week 10: Evolution and Creation (Part 2), Scopes to Scalia
Week 11: Numbers and Probability
Week 12: Planets and Persons
Week 13: Science and Politics (Part 1), Creationism
Week 14: Science and Politics (Part 2), Race and Creed
Gould was a prolific writer with papers targeted to the academic community as well as to the general public. As a respected (although controversial) scientist and at the time of his early death the Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology at Harvard University he is one of the most frequently cited scientists in the field of evolutionary theory. In other words, there is no shortage of additional material that PLATO members can draw on to enhance the classroom discussion in this SDG.
The primary texts will be: