Leading evolutionist, Stephen Jay Gould, dies

21 May 2002

Stephen Jay Gould, born 10 September 1941 in New York and perhaps the leading advocate of evolution in the world today, died Monday afternoon aged 60 after a long bout with cancer. Dr Gould, author of many popular books and a sharp-witted professor of biology at Harvard University, appears on AiG’s Who’s Who of Evolutionists.

He is best known among creationists for his controversial theory of ‘punctuated equilibrium,’ which acknowledges that the fossil record is characterized not by gradual changes, but by stasis (staying the same) and sudden appearance or disappearance. This of course fits with the predictions of a Creation/Flood view of the fossil record.

A well-known Marxist and therefore atheist/agnostic, Gould was greatly annoyed to see his frank admissions about the true nature of the fossil record used to support Biblical Creation (see Gould grumbles about creationist ‘hijacking’). He devoted a great deal of effort to opposing the creation movement, including in legal/political battles about public school teaching.

For a detailed discussion of his scientific views, see Punctuated Equilibrium, first published in TJ—in-depth Creation journal. To see a critical analysis of his ‘non-overlapping magisteria’ tactics of trying to anaesthetize religious opposition to evolution, see NOMA. To show what Gould really thought of Darwinism and religion, see Darwin’s real message: have you missed it?

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