The Science & Humanism of Stephen Jay Gould
by Richard York, Brett Clark
Grade Level: College
Reviewed by Rita Hoots
Professor
Stephen Jay Gould was a renaissance man of the 20th century. Not only was he a paleontologist and evolutionary biologist but he was known to many readers for his ability to popularize science, interpreting and explaining the intricacies of the field to the lay person.
The authors of this study are sociologists who describe the humanism behind the man and his science. The first half of the book deals with evolutionary theory and the history of life. This section deals with Gould’s view of the nature of history, delves into the divide between structural and functional explanations of the biological sciences, looks at the nature of history by inspecting the roles of contingency and convergence, and finalizes the section with a glimpse at the limits of reductionism. The relationship between science and humanism is examined from Gould’s point of view….
Read the entire review on the National Science Teachers Association website
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