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Richard dawkins vs. Stephen jay Gould:

Richard dawkins vs. Stephen jay Gould:. Pioneering T houghts in Evolution and Natural Selection. Acceptance of the theory. Gallup Polls from 1980-2000s Only 55% of people in America accept the theory of evolution as true

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Richard dawkins vs. Stephen jay Gould:

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  1. Richard dawkins vs. Stephen jay Gould: Pioneering Thoughts in Evolution and Natural Selection

  2. Acceptance of the theory • Gallup Polls from 1980-2000s • Only 55% of people in America accept the theory of evolution as true • 45% agree that a higher power “created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so.” “Evolution could easily be disproved if just a single fossil turned up in the wrong date order. Evolution has passed with flying colors” - Richard Dawkins

  3. Evolution and natural selection • The Theory of Evolution: • Scientific theory based on fact and observation that explains the biological change in populations over time. • Natural Selection: • Process in which specific traits become more or less common in a population. This results in evolution (survival of the fittest) • Four components: • More offspring are produced that can survive • Offspring exhibit variation – some of which is inheritable • Competition for access to resources • Variation leads to differential survival and reproduction

  4. Dawkins Vs. Gould • Richard Dawkins • Evolutionary Biologist,Ethologist, Advocate for Atheism, and Author (The God Delusion, Climbing Mount Improbable) • Believes that natural selection explainsevery observation in evolutionarybiology • Stephen Jay Gould • Paleontologist, Evolutionary Biologist, Historian of Science, and Author (Ever Since Darwin, Ontogeny and Phylogeny) • Believes there are are more theories other than natural selection that explain evolution.

  5. Source #1 “Gould and God” by Jerry A. Coyne • Observes the personal views of both Richard Dawkins and Stephen Jay Gould • Focuses mostly on Gould’s beliefs and work • Gould believes that evolutionary processes today are different than the evolutionary processes that gave rise start to the rise of life on Earth • Coyne, Jerry A. “Gould and God.” Nature 433.6934 (2003): 813-4. ProQuest Research Library. PROQUESTMS. 14 Nov. 2012

  6. Source #2 “Evolutionary Thought in America” edited by Stow Persons • Collection of lectures delivered at an undergraduate conference of the American Civilization Program at Princeton University • Used to get a better understanding of evolution and natural selection • Includes articles such as “The Rise and Impact of Evolutionary Ideas” by Robert Scoon, “Evolution in it’s Relation to the Philosophy of Nature” by F.S.C Nothrop, and “The Genetic Nature of Differences Among Men” by Theodosius Dobzhansky. • Persons, Stow. And Princeton University. Program of Study in American Civilization. Evolutionary Thought in America /[Edited for the special program in American Civilization at Princeton University] Yale University Press, New Haven: 1950

  7. Source #3 “Dawkins Vs. Gould: Survival of the Fittest” by Kim Sterelny • Looks deeper into the differences in Dawkins’ and Gould’s ideas and past the main controversy • Examines the impact of both biologists’ deep-rooted personal beliefs and the influence they both have on society • “Can selection happen for a species as a whole or does it only affect individuals?” • Gould’s invention of “extrapolationsim” • Sterelny, Kim. Dawkins Vs. Gould: Survival of the Fittest. New York: Totem Books, 2001. Print.

  8. Research Question How do the ideas of Richard Dawkins and Stephen Jay Gould differ, and what influence do they have on the scientific community?

  9. Thank you for listening. Questions?

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