Stephen Jay Gould: biography of this paleontologist and evolutionary biologist

This researcher and historian made important contributions to evolutionary biology.

Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002) was an American geologist, paleontologist and historian of science, who has been very influential in evolutionary theory, as well as in the dissemination of scientific knowledge in different areas.

He is recognized to this day as one of the legends of 20th century science. We will now take a brief tour through the life and work of this scientist through a brief biography of Stephen Jay Gould.

Stephen Jay Gould: biography of this influential scientist

Stephen Jay Gould was born on September 10, 1941 in the Queens borough of New York City. He was the son of a World War II veteran stenographer, and an artist daughter of Jewish immigrants who lived and worked in Manhattan, New York.

Both Stephen Jay Gould and his younger brother grew up in northeast Queens, a middle-class neighborhood where Jay had the opportunity to attend school. At the age of 19, he attended Antioch High School, where he was involved in several student movements for participated in several student movements for civil rights and social justice, especially against segregationist policies.especially against segregationist racialization policies.

In fact, much of his later work focused on denouncing different forms of oppression due to cultural differences, and he strongly criticized the scientific racism that permeated research production at the time. For Gould, scientific theories that had racist biases were nothing more than pseudoscience used in the service of racism.

However, Stephen Jay Gould is best known for his work in paleontology, whose interest began at a very young age after visiting the dinosaur exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

During his time at Antioch College, Stephen Jay Gould specialized as a geologist and philologist. majored as a geologist and philosopher, and later took some courses at the University of California at Austin.and later took some courses at the University of Leed in England. He continued his training at Columbia University under the tutelage of geologist and paleontologist Norman Newell, and was eventually hired by Harvard University, where he served as a professor and curator at the Museum of Comparative Zoology.

Gould has been a very important researcher for evolutionary theory.Gould has been a very important researcher for evolutionary theory, becoming one of the three most cited authors in the journal Palaeobiology (after Darwin and Simpson). But not only that, he is recognized as an important historian of science and as one of the best science popularizers. Especially after having worked for a long time for Natural History magazine.

Stephen Jay Gould died in New York City on May 20, 2002 from lung Cancer that had spread to other parts of his body.

Main theories

As we have seen, Stephen Jay Gould served not only as a paleontologist but also as a biologist and historian of science.. He is recognized for having developed theories on evolutionary biology that were in strong opposition to the nascent sociobiology, since he considered it a deterministic view of society. On the other hand, his theories were also in opposition to evolutionary psychology, considering it a deterministic perspective of individual human action.

Nevertheless, he also recognized several of the contributions of both branches, and at the same time remained aloof from Darwinian determinism.. He also defended the hierarchical theory of evolution as a way of extending Darwin's classical theories. In line with the above, Gould took a firm position against the thesis of creationism and against the collaboration between science and religion.

Theory of punctuated equilibrium

Perhaps Stephen Jay Gould's most recognized theory is the Punctuated Equilibrium Theory, developed together with another American paleontologist named Niles Eldredge. In this theory, based on fossil records, he proposes that evolution has occurred at a certain rate.

The main characteristic of this rhythm is that it has occurred in a ramified manner, i.e., from a first species, many others have gradually emerged. The genetic changes in this process have occurred during periods of stability with minor modifications, interspersed with changes occurring relatively quickly.

In contrast to previous theories that proposed that one extinct species was followed by a more evolved species, and so on; punctuated equilibrium suggests that the same ancient species could give rise to many different species in a branching (or punctuated) manner. This theory represented a major neo-Darwinian revolution in understanding evolution. in understanding evolution.

Awards and distinctions

In 1982, Gould received the Alexander Agassiz Award (professor of zoology) from Harvard University. The following year he was granted membership in the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences and six years later he was named president of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, was named president of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences..

He also served as president of the Paleontological Society and the Society for Evolutionary Studies. Finally, in 1989, he was named a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and in 2001, a year earlier, he became a member of the National Academy of Sciences.In 2001, a year before his death, he was named Humanist of the Year by the American Humanist Association.

Outstanding works

His most renowned popularization texts are The False Measure of Man from 1980, The Wonderful Lifeof 1999 and Since Darwinfrom 1977, which was his first published book. His last published book, in which he summarized the theory of modern evolution according to his own research, was also very influential. summarized the theory of modern evolution according to his own research.. It is the book The structure of the theory of evolutionfrom 2002.

Other of his works, where he addressed the differences between science and religion, are Once upon a time the hedgehog and the foxfrom 2003, and Science versus Religion, a False Conflictfrom 1999.