Jerry Coyne
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jerry Coyne is a Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Chicago. He earned his Ph.D. (Biology) at Harvard University, followed by an NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Department of Genetics at the University of California, Davis. He has taught undergraduate and graduate courses spanning a wide range of topics, including evolutionary biology, speciation, genetic analysis, social issues and scientific knowledge, and scientific speaking and writing. Dr. Coyne was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship in 1989. He has served as Vice President of the Society for the Study of Evolution (1996) and as Associate Editor of Evolution (1985-1988; 1994-2000) and The American Naturalist (1990-1993). His work is widely published, not only in scientific journals, but in such mainstream venues as The New York Times, the Times Literary Supplement, and The New Republic. His research interests include population and evolutionary genetics, speciation, ecological and quantitative genetics, chromosome evolution, and sperm competition.
In The faith that dares not speak its name, Coyne wrote:
- Intelligent design, or ID, is the latest pseudoscientific incarnation of religious creationism, cleverly crafted by a new group of enthusiasts to circumvent recent legal restrictions. [1]
Coyne argues that Darwin's evidence "destroys the creationist notion that species were created in their present form and thereafter remained unchanged".
Coyne goes on to make the theological argument that "A creator, especially an intelligent one, would not bestow useless tooth buds, wings, or eyes on large numbers of species."
He also criticizes Icons of Evolution:
- Jonathan Wells' book rests entirely on a flawed syllogism: ... textbooks illustrate evolution with examples; these examples are sometimes presented in incorrect or misleading ways; therefore evolution is a fiction. [2]
Professor Coyne is an opponent of scientific racism who implied the The Bell Curve was pseudoscientific while reviewing Darwin's Black Box [3].
