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{{Short description|American pseudoscientific biologist (1942–2024)}} | |||
'''John Corrigan "Jonathan" Wells''' is a ] and supporter of ] theory. | |||
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{{Infobox person | |||
| name = Jonathan Wells | |||
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| birth_name = John Corrigan Wells | |||
| birth_date = {{birth date|1942|09|19}} | |||
| birth_place = New York City, U.S. | |||
| death_date = {{death date and age|2024|09|19|1942|09|19}} | |||
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| education = ] (], ])<br />] (])<br />] (]) | |||
| known = ] advocate and anti-evolution activist | |||
| occupation = Author | |||
| title = Senior Fellow, ] | |||
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'''John Corrigan''' "'''Jonathan'''" '''Wells''' (September 19, 1942 – September 19, 2024) was an American biologist, theologian, and advocate of the ] of ].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Wells |first=Jonathan |date=November 2004 |title=Using Intelligent Design Theory to Guide Scientific Research |url=http://www.iscid.org/papers/Wells_TOPS_051304.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060513182316/http://www.iscid.org/papers/Wells_TOPS_051304.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2006-05-13 |journal=Progress in Complexity, Information and Design |volume=3.1.2 |issn=1555-5089 |oclc=315922913 |access-date=2008-07-16 }}</ref> Wells joined the ] in 1974, and subsequently wrote that the teachings of its founder ] and his own studies at the ] and his prayers convinced him to devote his life to "destroying ]."<ref name="Icon4">{{cite web |url=http://ncse.com/creationism/analysis/icon-4-haeckels-embryos |date=November 23, 2006 |title=Icon 4 — Haeckel's Embryos |last=Gishlick |first=Alan D. |website=] |publisher=National Center for Science Education |location=Berkeley, CA |access-date=2008-12-17}}</ref><ref name="2phd">{{cite web |url=http://www.tparents.org/library/unification/talks/wells/DARWIN.htm |title=Darwinism: Why I Went for a Second Ph.D. |last=Wells |first=Jonathan |website=True Parents Organization |location=Denver, CO |access-date=2013-12-12}}</ref><ref name="Forrest">{{cite web |url=http://www.designinference.com/documents/2007.12.MPC_Rise_and_Fall.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080106063508/http://www.designinference.com/documents/2007.12.MPC_Rise_and_Fall.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2008-01-06 |title=The Rise and Fall of Baylor University's Michael Polanyi Center (Barbara Forrest's Letter to Simon Blackburn) |last=Forrest |first=Barbara |author-link=Barbara Forrest |date=March 2000 |editor-last=Dembski |editor-first=William A |editor-link=William A. Dembski |website=DesignInference.com |publisher=William Dembski |access-date=2013-12-12 |quote=As I stated earlier, Johnson, Dembski, and their associates have assumed the task of destroying 'Darwinism,' 'evolutionary naturalism,' 'scientific materialism,' 'methodological naturalism,' 'philosophical naturalism,' and other 'isms' they use as synonyms for evolution. }} Quoted in (PDF) by William A. Dembski (May 14, 2005).</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://ncse.com/cej/9/1/comparing-darwins-method-with-that-scientific-creationists|title=Comparing Darwin's Method with That of Scientific Creationists|date=2008-12-31}}</ref> | |||
After graduating the ] in 1978, Wells earned for two doctorates - one in theology at ] and the other in molecular and cell biology at the University of California at Berkeley. Wells is a Fellow of the Discovery Institute's ]. | |||
After gaining a ] in ] from ], Wells became Director of the Unification Church's inter-religious outreach organization in New York City. In 1989, he studied at the ], where he earned a second Ph.D. in ] and ] in 1994. He became a member of several scientific associations and had published in academic journals. | |||
In 2001, Wells wrote the book ], which discusses ten examples used in the teaching of the ]. | |||
In his book '']'' (2000), Wells argued that a number of examples used to illustrate biology textbooks were grossly exaggerated, distorted truth, or were patently false. Wells said that this shows that evolution conflicts with the evidence, and so argued against its teaching in ].<ref name="Icons intro" /><ref name="Coyne">{{cite journal |last=Coyne |first=Jerry |author-link=Jerry Coyne |date=April 12, 2001 |title=Creationism by stealth |journal=] |type=Book review |volume=410 |issue=6830 |pages=745–46 |doi=10.1038/35071144 |bibcode=2001Natur.410..745C |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.discovery.org/a/1180 |title=Critics Rave Over ''Icons of Evolution'': A Response to Published Reviews |last=Wells |first=Jonathan |date=June 12, 2002 |website=] |publisher=Discovery Institute |location=Seattle, WA |quote=Several of them grossly exaggerate or distort the truth, while others are patently false. Yet they are found year after year in almost all textbooks dealing with evolutionary theory, and they invariably accompany other material promoting that theory. When someone points out that the textbook examples misrepresent the facts, Darwinists don't rush to correct them. Instead, they rush to defend them. |access-date=2007-08-13}}</ref> Some reviewers of ''Icons of Evolution'' have said that Wells ] cited as sources and took minor issues out of context, basing his argument on a flawed ].<ref name="Coyne" /><ref name="CTH98" /> Wells's views on evolution had been rejected by the ].<ref name="Forrest" /><ref name="Icons intro">{{cite web |url=http://www.iconsofevolution.org/intro/ |title=INTRODUCTION to ICONS of EVOLUTION: Science or Myth? Why much of what we teach about evolution is wrong |last=Wells |first=Jonathan |website=Icons of Evolution |publisher=] |location=Seattle, WA |access-date=2013-12-12 |quote=Biological evolution is the theory that all living things are modified descendants of a common ancestor that lived in the distant past. It claims that you and I are descendants of ape-like ancestors, and that they in turn came from still more primitive animals.<br><br>...much of what we teach about evolution is wrong. This fact raises troubling questions about the status of Darwinian evolution. If the icons of evolution are supposed to be our best evidence for Darwin's theory, and all of them are false or misleading, what does that tell us about the theory? Is it science, or myth? |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131229192456/http://www.iconsofevolution.org/intro/ |archive-date=2013-12-29 }}</ref><ref name="wells_PIGDID">{{cite web |url=http://www.pandasthumb.org/archives/2006/08/the_politically_1.html |title=The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design Review: Why Should Words Have Meanings? (Chapter 1) |last=Humburg |first=Burt |editor-last=Cartwright |editor-first=Reed A. |date=August 26, 2006 |website=] |publisher=The TalkOrigins Foundation, Inc. |location=Houston, TX |type=Blog |access-date=2007-02-04 |quote=In order to advance his thesis, Wells has to convey the idea that 'Darwinism' pits itself against traditional Christianity: to allow pupils to learn it is to give them up to atheism, decadence, liberalism and to lose the culture war.<br>Note that Wells does not wage war against evolution. In fact, he is at pains to make it (somewhat) clear that he wages war against 'Darwinism', which in context might sound like the sort of thing any sensible Christian would want to guard against. Unfortunately, Wells isn't exactly clear what he means by Darwinism as opposed to evolution.<br><br>Easily, one of the prominent faults of Wells’s screed is a pervasive confusion between terms. Words, like 'Darwinism' and 'Traditional Christianity', seem to mean whatever Wells wants them to mean for that specific sentence. In many cases words are used without regard for his own stated definitions and usually without regard to usage elsewhere in his book. There are several possible reasons for this confusion in terms. First, Wells confusion may be by design. I have argued elsewhere that creationists intend to confuse their audiences when they argue. Second, if you review the acknowledgements page, you’ll read how Wells used many authors to help him prepare this text. It is possible that Wells's editorship was so insufficient that he allowed a term that makes up part of the book's very title to have a flexible meaning. My suspicion is that there was both disparity between the understanding of key terms by different authors ''as well as'' an intention to confuse. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061126045754/http://www.pandasthumb.org/archives/2006/08/the_politically_1.html |archive-date=November 26, 2006 }}</ref> | |||
==Biography== | |||
Wells was born in New York City in 1942 and grew up in ], and was brought up as a ]. He studied ] at ], where he dropped out in his junior year. Following a brief stint as a taxi driver, he was drafted into the ] and spent two years serving in Germany. After his discharge in 1966, he attended University of California, Berkeley, where he publicly refused to report for reserve duty. This resulted in him being arrested and being incarcerated for eighteen months at the ]. Upon his release, Wells returned to Berkeley where he completed his studies with a major in geology and ] and a minor in ]. | |||
In 1974, Wells joined the ].<ref>], p. 174</ref> He graduated from the Unification Church's Unification Theological Seminary in 1978 with a master's degree in religious education.<ref name="Wells autobiography">{{cite web |url=http://www.darwinismandid.com/then/index.php |title=Jonathan Wells Then |last=Wells |first=Jonathan |website=The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design |publisher=The Discovery Institute |location=Seattle, WA |access-date=2008-07-16}}</ref> Wells continued his studies at Yale University, earning a PhD in ] in 1986, focusing on historical reactions to Darwinism.<ref name=Numbers381>], p. 381</ref> During this time he wrote extensively on ] and taught at the Unification Theological Seminary.<ref name="Wells autobiography" /> Wells was on the Board of Trustees of the Unification Theological Seminary until resigning in 1997 to return to teaching.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tparents.org/library/unification/publications/cornerst/cs970203/5-board.html |title=Board of Trustees |website=True Parents Organization |location=Denver, CO |access-date=2013-12-12}}</ref> He also acted as the director of the International Religious Foundation, a ] which sponsors interdenominational conferences.<ref name="Antal">{{cite web |url=http://www.tparents.org/Library/Unification/Talks/Antal/Antal_nccc.htm |title=New Hope for Dialogue with National Council of Churches of Christ |last=Antal |first=Chris |date=February 2000 |website=True Parents Organization |location=Denver, CO |access-date=2013-12-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=CULTIVATING FRIENDS REV. MOON HOSTS RELIGIOUS SCHOLARS |newspaper=] |date=November 21, 1985}}{{Verify source|date=December 2013}}</ref> | |||
Wells had written on the subject of marriage within the Unification Church, and had been called a "Unification Church marriage expert" by church sources.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tparents.org/library/unification/talks/wells/MARRGE3.htm |title=Marriage and the Family: the Unification Blessing |last=Wells |first=Jonathan |website=True Parents Organization |location=Denver, CO |access-date=2013-12-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Lanham |first=Cheryl Wetzstein |date=September 1994 |title=True Subject and Object, Not Men and Women |url=http://www.tparents.org/UNews/Unws9409/QUINN-01.htm |work=Unification News |type=Letter to the editor (reprint) |location=New York |publisher=] |issn=1061-0871 |access-date=2013-12-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tparents.org/Library/Unification/Photos/Uph-1997/0-Toc.htm |title=Unificationist Photos from 1997 and 1998 |website=True Parents Organization |location=Denver, CO |access-date=2013-12-12}}</ref> Wells defended Unification Church theology against what he said were unfair criticisms of it made in 1977 by the ].<ref name="Antal" /> | |||
In 1994, Wells earned another PhD in molecular and cellular biology from the ].<ref name=Numbers381/> After receiving his doctorate, he worked at a position he described as "a post-doctoral research biologist at Berkeley, writing articles critical of Darwinism."<ref name="2phd" /> Shortly after that Wells joined ], father of the ], at the ].<ref name="Wells autobiography" /> He now serves as a fellow at the Discovery Institute's ],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.discovery.org/p/41 |title=Jonathan Wells, Senior Fellow - CSC |website=Discovery Institute |location=Seattle, WA |access-date=2013-12-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130314204248/http://www.discovery.org/p/41 |archive-date=2013-03-14 |url-status=dead }}</ref> the hub of the intelligent design movement, and at the ],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iscid.org/fellows.php |title=Society Fellows |website=International Society for Complexity, Information, and Design |location=Princeton, NJ |access-date=2013-12-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116054926/http://www.iscid.org/fellows.php |archive-date=2013-01-16 }}</ref> which also promotes intelligent design.<ref name="aaas">{{cite web |url=http://www.aaas.org/spp/dser/03_Areas/evolution/issues/peerreview.shtml |title=Intelligent Design and Peer Review |website=] |location=Washington, D.C. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312080527/http://www.aaas.org/spp/dser/03_Areas/evolution/issues/peerreview.shtml |archive-date=2007-03-12 |access-date=2013-12-12}}</ref> | |||
Wells appeared on a panel at ] with ] in November 2001, which his supporters lauded as a "]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://arn.org/docs/pjweekly/pj_weekly_011202.htm|title=The Weekly Edge Update: Wells Hits a Home Run at Harvard|date=2001-12-02|first=Phillip E.|last=Johnson|website=]|access-date=2018-10-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2001/11/29/panelists-discuss-validity-of-evolutionary-theory/|title=Panelists Discuss Validity Of Evolutionary Theory|date=2001-11-29|first=Jeslyn A.|last=Miller|work=The Harvard Crimson|access-date=2018-10-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://old.richarddawkins.net/articles/119-why-i-won-39-t-debate-creationists|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130312033731/http://old.richarddawkins.net/articles/119-why-i-won-39-t-debate-creationists|archive-date=2013-03-12|url-status=dead|title=Why I Won't Debate Creationists|date=2006-05-14|first=Richard|last=Dawkins|website=The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science|access-date=2018-10-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrwzYOBLUoE |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/NrwzYOBLUoE |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Evolution vs Creation debate—Harvard Professor Stephen Palumbi vs Jonathan Wells|date=2013-11-17|website=Youtube|access-date=2018-10-03}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Other observers stated that Wells' performance was "uneventful".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2003/3/31/death-to-intelligent-design-just-months/|title=Death to Intelligent Design|date=2003-03-31|first=Jonathan H.|last=Esensten|work=The Harvard Crimson|access-date=2018-10-03}}</ref> | |||
Wells died on September 19, 2024, his 82nd birthday.<ref>{{cite web|title=Farewell to Jonathan Wells, Iconoclastic Scientist|first=David|last=Klinghoffer|date=September 24, 2024|website=]|publication-place=Seattle|publisher=]|url=https://evolutionnews.org/2024/09/farewell-to-jonathan-wells-iconoclastic-scientist/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=About|website=JonathanWells.org|access-date=September 24, 2024|url=https://jonathanwells.org/about/}}</ref> | |||
==Opposition to Darwinian evolution== | |||
{{Intelligent Design}} | |||
Of his student days at Unification Theological Seminary (1976–78), Wells said, "One of the things that Father advised us to do at UTS was to pray to seek God's plan for our lives." Wells later described that plan: "To defend and articulate Unification theology especially in relation to Darwinian evolution."<ref>{{cite journal |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=May–June 1997 |title=Dr. Jonathan Wells Returns to UTS |url=http://www.tparents.org/library/unification/publications/cornerst/cs970506/CST_Dr-Jonathan.html |journal=The Cornerstone |issn=0197-5196 |access-date=2013-12-12}}</ref> | |||
Wells stated that his religious doctoral studies at Yale, which were paid for by the Unification Church, focused on the "root of the conflict between Darwinian evolution and Christian doctrine" and encompassed the whole of Christian ] within a focus of Darwinian controversies.<ref name="2phd" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/01/15/178574/-Know-Your-Creationists |title=Know Your Creationists |last=Andrew |first=Stephen |date=January 15, 2006 |website=] |publisher=Kos Media, LLC |location=Berkeley, CA |type=Blog |oclc=59226519 |access-date=2013-12-12}}</ref> He said: | |||
{{quotation|...I learned (to my surprise) that biblical chronology played almost no role in the 19th- century controversies, since most theologians had already accepted geological evidence for the age of the earth and re-interpreted the days in ] as long periods of time. Instead, the central issue was design.<ref name="2phd" />}} | |||
Wells said that "destroying Darwinism" was his motive for studying Christian theology at Yale and going on to seek his second PhD at Berkeley, studying biology and in particular ]: | |||
{{quotation|Father's <nowiki></nowiki> words, my studies, and my prayers convinced me that I should devote my life to destroying Darwinism, just as many of my fellow Unificationists had already devoted their lives to destroying ]. When Father chose me (along with about a dozen other seminary graduates) to enter a Ph.D. program in 1978, I welcomed the opportunity to prepare myself for battle.<ref name="2phd" />}} | |||
Wells's statement and others like it are viewed by the scientific community as evidence that Wells lacks proper scientific ] and mischaracterizes evolution by ignoring and misrepresenting the evidence supporting it while pursuing an agenda promoting notions supporting his religious beliefs in its place.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pandasthumb.org/archives/2004/03/mything_the_poi.html |title=Mything the point: Jonathan Wells' bad faith |date=March 30, 2004 |last=Wilkins |first=John S. |website=The Panda's Thumb |publisher=The TalkOrigins Foundation, Inc. |location=Houston, TX |type=Blog |access-date=2014-01-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924063710/http://www.pandasthumb.org/archives/2004/03/mything_the_poi.html |archive-date=September 24, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/01/jonathan_wells_knows_nothing_a.php |title=Jonathan Wells knows nothing about development, part I |last=Myers |first=PZ |author-link=PZ Myers |date=January 24, 2007 |website=] |publisher=] |type=Blog |access-date=2014-01-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111226071454/http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/01/jonathan_wells_knows_nothing_a.php |archive-date=December 26, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://scienceblogs.com/aetiology/2007/01/wells_at_yale.php |title=Whereby Jon Wells is smacked down by an undergrad in the Yale Daily News |last=Smith |first=Tara C. |date=January 31, 2007 |website=Aetiology |publisher=ScienceBlogs LLC |type=Blog |access-date=2014-01-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120507180233/http://scienceblogs.com/aetiology/2007/01/wells_at_yale.php |archive-date=May 7, 2012 }}</ref> | |||
He has written articles for the Discovery Institute, '']'', '']'', and other sympathetic publications attacking evolution and defending intelligent design.<ref name="discovery, search, wells">{{cite web |url=http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/index.php?command=submitSearchQuery&query=Jonathan%20Wells&orderBy=date&orderDir=DESC&searchBy=author&searchType=all |title=Article Database |website=Discovery Institute |location=Seattle, WA |access-date=2013-12-12 |archive-date=2011-07-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726010636/http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/index.php?command=submitSearchQuery&query=Jonathan%20Wells&orderBy=date&orderDir=DESC&searchBy=author&searchType=all |url-status=dead }} List of articles written by Jonathan Wells.</ref> In 1997, he presented a paper entitled "Evolution by Design" at the Unification Church sponsored ] in Washington, D.C.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tparents.org/library/unification/talks/wells/nat-select.htm |title=Evolution by Design |last=Wells |first=Jonathan |website=True Parents Organization |location=Denver, CO |access-date=2013-12-12}}</ref> | |||
In 1999, Wells debated with the New Mexicans for Science and Reason.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nmsr.org/jonwells.htm |title=The C-Files: Jonathan Wells |website=New Mexicans for Science and Reason |location=Peralta, NM |access-date=2008-05-17}}</ref> He was one of the contributors to '']'' magazine's 2002 debate between intelligent design advocates and evolution supporters.<ref>{{cite journal |editor-last1=Milner |editor-first1=Richard |editor1-link=Richard Milner (historian) |editor-last2=Maestro |editor-first2=Vittorio |date=April 2002 |title=Intelligent Design? |url=http://www.actionbioscience.org/evolution/nhmag.html |journal=] |access-date=2013-12-12}}</ref> In 2005, he debated ] on the ] talk show '']''.<ref>{{cite episode |title=MONKEY BUSINESS: Evolution and Intelligent Design |url=http://www.hoover.org/multimedia/uncommon-knowledge/26902 |access-date=2008-07-17 |series=] |first1=Peter (host) |last1=Robinson |author-link1=Peter Robinson (speechwriter) |first2=Pigliucci |last2=Massimo |author-link2=Massimo Pigliucci |first3=Jonathan |last3=Wells |network=] |station=] |date=January 14, 2005 |publisher=] |location=Stanford, CA |archive-date=2011-05-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519194756/http://www.hoover.org/multimedia/uncommon-knowledge/26902 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Pigliucci said that Wells "clearly lied" during his debates and misrepresented his agenda and science, as well as not understanding some of the theories he tried to attack.<ref>], pp. 44–45</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Pennock |first=Robert T. |author-link=Robert T. Pennock |date=September 2003 |title=Creationism and Intelligent Design |url=https://www.msu.edu/~pennock5/research/papers/Pennock_Creationism%2BID.pdf |journal=Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics |volume=4 |pages=143–163 |pmid=14527300 |doi=10.1146/annurev.genom.4.070802.110400 |access-date=2008-07-16}}</ref> | |||
Wells is one of the signatories of the Discovery Institute's "]," a petition which the intelligent design movement uses to promote intelligent design by attempting to cast doubt on evolution.<ref name="Chang">{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |date=February 21, 2006 |title=Few Biologists but Many Evangelicals Sign Anti-Evolution Petition |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/21/science/sciencespecial2/21peti.html |newspaper=] |access-date=2008-05-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/filesDB-download.php?command=download&id=660 |title=A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism |website=Discovery Institute |location=Seattle, WA |format=PDF |access-date=2008-05-05}}</ref> He is also the author of "Ten questions to ask your biology teacher about evolution" for high school students, which is published by the Discovery Institute.<ref name="QuestionstoAsk">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/24/us/WEB-tenquestions.html |title=10 Questions, and Answers, About Evolution |newspaper=The New York Times |date=August 23, 2008 |access-date=2008-09-17}}</ref> The ] has issued a list of answers to the questions.<ref name="QuestionstoAsk"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ncse.com/news/2008/08/teacher-front-line-002339 |title=A Teacher on the Front Line |date=August 24, 2008 |website=National Center for Science Education |location=Berkeley, CA |access-date=2008-09-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ncse.com/creationism/analysis/10-answers-to-jonathan-wellss-10-questions |title=10 Answers to Jonathan Wells's '10 Questions' |date=October 17, 2008 |website=National Center for Science Education |location=Berkeley, CA |access-date=2008-02-19}}</ref> | |||
===''Icons of Evolution''=== | |||
{{Main|Icons of Evolution}} | |||
<!-- This use of this image does not have a corresponding rationale on the image's page. Please read ] ] --> | |||
In 2000 Wells published his book '']'', in which he discusses 10 examples which he says show that many of the most commonly accepted arguments supporting ] are invalid.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.discovery.org/a/3685 |title=Scientist Exposes Evolution's Weaknesses in Politically Incorrect Book About Darwinism and Intelligent Design |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=August 2, 2006 |website=Center for Science and Culture |publisher=Discovery Institute |location=Seattle, WA |access-date=2013-12-12}}</ref> | |||
There have been 12 detailed reviews of ''Icons'', from scholars familiar with the subject matter, which have come to the consensus that the book's claims are a politically motivated exaggeration and misrepresentation of a scattering of minor issues.<ref name="CTH98">], p. 98. Reviews specifically cited include those by David Ussery, ], ] and Alan Gishlick.</ref> Scholars quoted in the work have accused Wells of purposely ] and misleading readers.<ref name="misquoting">], p. 111. Quoting ]: "But should we blame Ms Rider for her outrage upon learning that moths were glued to trees? No. Instead I blame Dr Wells, who wrote the article she cites as her source of information. While he has done no work on industrial mechanism, he has written opinion about that work. To one outside the field, he passes as a scholar, complete with Ph.D. Unfortunately, Dr Wells is intellectually dishonest. . . . He lavishly dresses his essays in quotations from experts (including some from me) which are generally taken out of context, and he systematically omits relevant details to make our conclusions seem ill founded, flawed, or fraudulent."</ref><ref name="Coyne-letter">{{cite news |last=Coyne |first=Jerry |date=December 6, 2000 |title=Criticism of moth study no challenge to evolution |url=http://www.jodkowski.pl/ka/PrattTribune005.html |newspaper=] |type=Letter to the editor |location=Pratt, KS |publisher=] |quote=Creationists such as Jonathan Wells claim that my criticism of ] casts strong doubt on Darwinism. But this characterization is false. ... My call for additional research on the moths has been wrongly characterized by creationists as revealing some fatal flaw in the theory of evolution. ... It is a classic creationist tactic (as exemplified in Wells' book, 'Icons of Evolution') to assert that healthy scientific debate is really a sign that evolutionists are either committing fraud or buttressing a crumbling theory. |access-date=2013-12-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116054931/http://www.jodkowski.pl/ka/PrattTribune005.html |archive-date=January 16, 2013 }}</ref> ] wrote of ''Icons'', "Wells's book rests entirely on a flawed ]: ... textbooks illustrate evolution with examples; these examples are sometimes presented in incorrect or misleading ways; therefore evolution is a fiction."<ref name="Coyne" /><ref name="Talented">{{cite journal|last2=Gishlick|first2=Alan D.|date=March 2002|title=The Talented Mr. Wells|journal=]|volume=77|issue=1|pages=33–37|doi=10.1086/339201|last1=Padian|first1=Kevin|author-link1=Kevin Padian}}<!--|access-date=2013-12-12--></ref><ref name="Icons-intro">{{cite web |url=http://ncse.com/creationism/analysis/icons-evolution |date=October 19, 2008 |title=Why much of what Jonathan Wells writes about evolution is wrong |last=Gishlick |first=Alan D. |website=National Center for Science Education |location=Berkeley, CA |access-date=2013-12-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/wells/iconob.html |title=Icon of Obfuscation |last=Matzke |first=Nick |author-link=Nick Matzke |website=TalkOrigins Archive |publisher=The TalkOrigins Foundation, Inc. |location=Houston, TX |access-date=2013-12-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Scott |first=Eugenie C. |author-link=Eugenie Scott |date=June 2001 |title=Fatally Flawed Iconoclasm |url=https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1060716 |journal=] |type=Book review |volume=292 |issue=5525 |pages=2257–2258 |doi=10.1126/science.1060716 |s2cid=153963713 |access-date=2007-05-17}}</ref><ref>], pp. 252–264</ref><ref>], p. 105</ref><ref name="Weisenberg">{{cite news |last=Weisenberg |first=Richard |date=December 16, 2000 |title=Challenging ideas against teaching of evolution |url=http://articles.philly.com/2000-12-16/news/25580606_1_evolution-cambrian-dna-studies |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131221120136/http://articles.philly.com/2000-12-16/news/25580606_1_evolution-cambrian-dna-studies |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 21, 2013 |newspaper=] |type=Letter to the editor |publisher=Interstate General Media |page=A16 |access-date=2013-12-12}} Letter in response to by Jonathan Wells (December 11, 2000).</ref> | |||
===Kansas evolution hearings=== | |||
{{Main|Kansas evolution hearings}} | |||
In 2005, Wells participated in the ], which were ]ed by mainstream scientists. There Wells testified: | |||
{{quotation|I became convinced that the Darwinian theory is false because it conflicts with the evidence. ... I think the earth is probably four-and-a-half billion or so years old. But I'll tell you this, I used to-- I would have said, a few years ago, I'm convinced it's four-and-a-half billion years old. But the truth is I have not looked at the evidence. And I have become increasingly suspicious of the evidence that is presented to me and that's why at this point I would say probably it's four-and-a-half billion years old, but I haven't looked at the evidence. ... There are already scientists-- respected scientists in this country who do experiments on things that most people consider ], such as ]. When ] proposed the theory of ] it was dismissed as supernaturalism because it was action at a distance. What constitutes supernaturalism in today's science may very well not be supernatural in tomorrow's science.<ref name="TOKansas">{{cite web |url=http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/kansas/kangaroo2.html#p681 |title=Kansas Evolution Hearings: Jonathan Wells, Bruce Simat, Giuseppe Sermonti, and Ralph Seelke |website=TalkOrigins Archive |publisher=The TalkOrigins Foundation, Inc. |location=Houston, TX |type=Transcript from the ] |access-date=2013-12-12}}</ref>}} | |||
Prior to the evolution hearings, in December 2000 after the ], school board revised its tenth-grade biology curriculum at the urging of intelligent design proponents to include material that encourages students to question the theory of evolution, '']'' published a letter from Jerry Coyne challenging Wells's characterization in an article of his work on ], saying that his article appended to the ''Pratt'' standards was misused and being mischaracterized: | |||
{{quotation|Creationists such as Jonathan Wells claim that my criticism of these experiments casts strong doubt on Darwinism. But this characterization is false. ... My call for additional research on the moths has been wrongly characterized by creationists as revealing some fatal flaw in the theory of evolution. ... It is a classic creationist tactic (as exemplified in Wells' book, "Icons of Evolution") to assert that healthy scientific debate is really a sign that evolutionists are either committing fraud or buttressing a crumbling theory.<ref name="Coyne-letter" />}} | |||
===''The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design''=== | |||
In 2006, Wells published his second major book, ''The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design'', which was part of a ] published by ]. The book was praised by ], author of '']'' (2005),<ref>{{cite news |last=Bethell |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Bethell |date=September 1, 2006 |title='Politically Incorrect' Series Takes on Darwinism and Intelligent Design |url=http://www.humanevents.com/2006/09/01/politically-incorrect-series-takes-on-darwinism-and-intelligent-design/ |work=] |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Eagle Publishing, Inc. |issn=0018-7194 |access-date=2013-12-12 |archive-date=2013-12-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220073751/http://www.humanevents.com/2006/09/01/politically-incorrect-series-takes-on-darwinism-and-intelligent-design/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> but was described by Reed A. Cartwright of '']'' weblog as being "not only politically incorrect but incorrect in most other ways as well: scientifically, logically, historically, legally, academically, and morally."<ref name="PoliticallyIncorrectReview">{{cite web |url=http://www.pandasthumb.org/archives/2006/08/the_politically.html |title=The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design Review |date=August 19, 2006 |editor-last=Cartwright |editor-first=Reed A. |website=] |publisher=The TalkOrigins Foundation, Inc. |location=Houston, TX |type=Blog |access-date=2006-11-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060927161244/http://www.pandasthumb.org/archives/2006/08/the_politically.html |archive-date=September 27, 2006 }}</ref> Cartwright also edited a chapter-by-chapter critique of the book.<ref name="PoliticallyIncorrectReview"/> A quote from the book linking evolution to ], ] and ] appeared on ] paper cups in 2007.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rosen |first=Rebecca |date=May 16, 2009 |title=Starbucks stirs things up with controversial quotes |url=http://www.denverpost.com/ci_5902652?source=rss |newspaper=] |publisher=] |access-date=2009-03-29}}</ref> | |||
== HIV/AIDS denialism == | |||
{{Main|HIV/AIDS denialism}} | |||
In 1991, Wells and his mentor Phillip E. Johnson signed an open letter which said in full: | |||
{{quotation|It is widely believed by the general public that a ] called ] causes the group diseases called ]. Many biochemical scientists now question this ]. We propose that a thorough reappraisal of the existing evidence for and against this hypothesis be conducted by a suitable independent group. We further propose that critical ] studies be devised and undertaken.<ref name="AIDSgrouppeition">{{cite web |url=http://www.virusmyth.com/aids/group.htm |title=The Group |website=VirusMyth: A Rethinking AID$ Website |publisher=Robert Laarhoven |location=Hilversum, Netherlands |access-date=2013-12-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Quittman |first=Beth |date=September 8, 2006 |title=Undercover at the Discovery Institute |url=http://www.seattlest.com/archives/2006/09/08/undercover_at_the_discovery_institute.php |work=Seattlest |type=Blog |location=New York |publisher=] |access-date=2008-07-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061020210815/http://www.seattlest.com/archives/2006/09/08/undercover_at_the_discovery_institute.php |archive-date=October 20, 2006 |url-status=dead }} Wells' "personal peculiarities include membership in the Moonies and support for AIDS reappraisal - the theory that the HIV is not the primary cause of AIDS."</ref><ref name="DenialismSun"/>}} | |||
Wells and Johnson have been criticized, along with others, for their questioning of the scientific and medical consensus that HIV causes AIDS.<ref name="DenialismSun">{{cite news|title=Aids 'denialism' gathers strange bedfellows |url=http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/columnists/story.html?id=b0cb194b-51d3-4140-88f7-e4099445c554 |newspaper=] |location=Vancouver, BC |publisher=Postmedia Network Inc. |date=June 17, 2006 |access-date=2008-07-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140730105830/http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/columnists/story.html?id=b0cb194b-51d3-4140-88f7-e4099445c554 |archive-date=July 30, 2014 }}</ref> In the '']'', Matthew J. Brauer, ], and ] faulted Wells, Johnson, and others for denying the HIV/AIDS connection and promoting ] via a petition which did not have any scientific support.<ref name="science_yet">{{cite journal |last1=Brauer |first1=Matthew J. |last2=Forrest |first2=Barbara |last3=Gey |first3=Steven G. |author-link3=Steven Gey |year=2005 |title=Is It Science Yet?: Intelligent Design Creationism and the Constitution |url=http://digitalcommons.law.wustl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1229&context=lawreview |format=PDF |journal=] |volume=83 |issue=1 |pages=79–80 |issn=2166-7993 |access-date=2009-06-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220073757/http://digitalcommons.law.wustl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1229&context=lawreview |archive-date=2013-12-20 }}</ref> | |||
==Publications== | |||
===Articles in peer-reviewed journals=== | |||
*{{cite journal |last=Wells |first=Jonathan |year=1985 |title=Inertial force as a possible factor in mitosis |journal=] |volume=17 |issue=4 |pages=301–315 |doi=10.1016/0303-2647(85)90046-2 |issn=0303-2647 |pmid=3902112|bibcode=1985BiSys..17..301W }} | |||
*{{cite journal |last1=Larabell |first1=Carolyn A. |last2=Rowning |first2=Brian A. |last3=Wells |first3=Jonathan |last4=Wu |first4=Mike |last5=Gerhart |first5=John C. |date=April 1996 |title=Confocal microscopy analysis of living Xenopus eggs and the mechanism of cortical rotation |url=http://dev.biologists.org/content/122/4/1281.full.pdf |journal=] |volume=122 |issue=4 |pages=1281–1289 |doi=10.1242/dev.122.4.1281 |oclc=15088415 |pmid=8620855 |access-date=2013-12-12}} | |||
*{{cite journal |last1=Rowning |first1=Brian A. |last2=Wells |first2=Jonathan |last3=Wu |first3=Mike |last4=Gerhart |first4=John C. |last5=Moon |first5=Randall T. |last6=Larabell |first6=Carolyn A. |date=February 18, 1997 |title=Microtubule-mediated transport of organelles and localization of β-catenin to the future dorsal side of Xenopus eggs |journal=] |volume=94 |issue=4 |pages=1224–1229 |doi=10.1073/pnas.94.4.1224 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=19772 |pmid=9037034 |bibcode=1997PNAS...94.1224R |doi-access=free }} | |||
===Books=== | |||
{{Refbegin}} | |||
*{{cite book |last=Wells |first=Jonathan |others=illustrations by Jody F. Sjogren |year=1988 |title=Charles Hodges' Critique of Darwinism: An Historical-Critical Analysis of Concepts Basic to the 19th Century Debate |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_xAKLTEgl9zUC |location=Lewiston, NY |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-88946-671-5 |lccn=87031222 |oclc=16924943 |ref=Wells 1988}} | |||
*{{cite book |last=Wells |first=Jonathan |year=2000 |title=Icons of Evolution: Science or Myth?: Why Much of What We Teach About Evolution is Wrong |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-89526-276-9 |lccn=00062544 |oclc=44768911 |author-mask=2 |ref=Wells 2000|title-link=Icons of Evolution }} | |||
*{{cite book |last=Wells |first=Jonathan |year=2006 |title=The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Regnery Publishing |isbn=978-1-596-98013-6 |lccn=2008270992 |oclc=70870578 |author-mask=2 |ref=Wells 2006}} | |||
*{{cite book |last1=Dembski |first1=William A. |author-link1=William A. Dembski |last2=Wells |first2=Jonathan |year=2008 |title=How to be an Intellectually Fulfilled Atheist (or not) |edition=1st |location=Wilmington, DE |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-933-85984-2 |lccn=2008934995 |oclc=232128215 |ref=Dembski & Wells 2008a}} | |||
*{{cite book |last1=Dembski |first1=William A. |last2=Wells |first2=Jonathan |editor-last=Dembski |editor-first=William A. |year=2008 |title=The Design of Life: Discovering Signs of Intelligence in Biological Systems |location=Dallas, TX |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-980-02130-1 |lccn=2009281462 |oclc=183624199 |author-mask1=2 |author-mask2=2 |ref=Dembski & Wells 2008b|title-link=Of Pandas and People#The Design of Life }} | |||
*{{cite book |last=Wells |first=Jonathan |year=2011 |title=The Myth of Junk DNA |edition=1st |location=Seattle, WA |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-936-59900-4 |lccn=2011925471 |oclc=739090951 |ref=Wells 2011}} | |||
{{Refend}} | |||
===Dissertations=== | |||
Wells, John Corrigan. 1986. CHARLES HODGE'S CRITIQUE OF DARWINISM: THE ARGUMENT TO DESIGN (EVOLUTION, THEOLOGY). Ph.D. Dissertation, Yale University, 265 pages. | |||
Wells, John Corrigan. 1994. A confocal microscopy study of microtubule arrays involved in cortical rotation during the first cell cycle of Xenopus embryos. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of California, Berkeley, 124 pages. | |||
==See also== | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
==Notes== | |||
{{reflist|30em}} | |||
==References== | |||
{{Refbegin}} | |||
*{{cite book |last=Cashill |first=Jack |author-link=Jack Cashill |year=2005 |title=Hoodwinked: How Intellectual Hucksters Have Hijacked American Culture |location=Nashville, TN |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-59555-011-8 |lccn=2005006138 |oclc=58386577 |ref=Cashill 2005 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/hoodwinkedhowint0000cash }} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Forrest |first1=Barbara |author-link1=Barbara Forrest |last2=Gross |first2=Paul R. |author-link2=Paul R. Gross |year=2004 |title=Creationism's Trojan Horse: The Wedge of Intelligent Design |location=Oxford; New York |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-19-515742-0 |oclc=50913078 |lccn=2002192677 |ref=Forrest & Gross 2004|title-link=Creationism's Trojan Horse: The Wedge of Intelligent Design }} | |||
*{{cite book |last=Numbers |first=Ronald L. |author-link=Ronald Numbers |year=2006 |orig-year=Originally published 1993; Berkeley: ] |title=The Creationists: From Scientific Creationism to Intelligent Design |edition=Expanded |location=Cambridge, MA |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-674-02339-0 |lccn=2006043675 |oclc=69734583 |ref=Numbers 2006|title-link=The Creationists }} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Pigliucci |first=Massimo |author-link=Massimo Pigliucci |year=2002 |title=Denying Evolution: Creationism, Scientism, and the Nature of Science |location=Sunderland, MA |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-87893-659-5 |lccn=2002005190 |oclc=49530100 |ref=Pigliucci 2002 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/denyingevolution00mass }} | |||
{{Refend}} | |||
== External links == | == External links == | ||
{{wikiquote}} | |||
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* from the ] | |||
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** {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726010636/http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/index.php?command=submitSearchQuery&query=Jonathan%20Wells&orderBy=date&orderDir=DESC&searchBy=author&searchType=all |date=2011-07-26 }} from the Discovery Institute | |||
* | |||
* | * from the ] | ||
* | * from ] | ||
* | * at the ] | ||
* by Alan D. Gishlick | |||
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* from ] | |||
* by Reed A. Cartwright, '']'' | |||
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Latest revision as of 03:11, 1 December 2024
American pseudoscientific biologist (1942–2024)
Jonathan Wells | |
---|---|
Born | John Corrigan Wells (1942-09-19)September 19, 1942 New York City, U.S. |
Died | September 19, 2024(2024-09-19) (aged 82) |
Education | University of California, Berkeley (BS, PhD) Unification Theological Seminary (MA) Yale University (PhD) |
Occupation | Author |
Known for | Intelligent design advocate and anti-evolution activist |
Title | Senior Fellow, Discovery Institute |
John Corrigan "Jonathan" Wells (September 19, 1942 – September 19, 2024) was an American biologist, theologian, and advocate of the pseudoscientific argument of intelligent design. Wells joined the Unification Church in 1974, and subsequently wrote that the teachings of its founder Sun Myung Moon and his own studies at the Unification Theological Seminary and his prayers convinced him to devote his life to "destroying Darwinism."
After gaining a Ph.D. in religious studies from Yale University, Wells became Director of the Unification Church's inter-religious outreach organization in New York City. In 1989, he studied at the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned a second Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology in 1994. He became a member of several scientific associations and had published in academic journals.
In his book Icons of Evolution: Science or Myth? (2000), Wells argued that a number of examples used to illustrate biology textbooks were grossly exaggerated, distorted truth, or were patently false. Wells said that this shows that evolution conflicts with the evidence, and so argued against its teaching in public education. Some reviewers of Icons of Evolution have said that Wells misquoted experts cited as sources and took minor issues out of context, basing his argument on a flawed syllogism. Wells's views on evolution had been rejected by the scientific community.
Biography
Wells was born in New York City in 1942 and grew up in New Jersey, and was brought up as a Protestant Christian. He studied geology at Princeton University, where he dropped out in his junior year. Following a brief stint as a taxi driver, he was drafted into the United States Army and spent two years serving in Germany. After his discharge in 1966, he attended University of California, Berkeley, where he publicly refused to report for reserve duty. This resulted in him being arrested and being incarcerated for eighteen months at the Leavenworth military prison. Upon his release, Wells returned to Berkeley where he completed his studies with a major in geology and physics and a minor in biology.
In 1974, Wells joined the Unification Church of the United States. He graduated from the Unification Church's Unification Theological Seminary in 1978 with a master's degree in religious education. Wells continued his studies at Yale University, earning a PhD in religious studies in 1986, focusing on historical reactions to Darwinism. During this time he wrote extensively on Unification theology and taught at the Unification Theological Seminary. Wells was on the Board of Trustees of the Unification Theological Seminary until resigning in 1997 to return to teaching. He also acted as the director of the International Religious Foundation, a Unification Church affiliated organization which sponsors interdenominational conferences.
Wells had written on the subject of marriage within the Unification Church, and had been called a "Unification Church marriage expert" by church sources. Wells defended Unification Church theology against what he said were unfair criticisms of it made in 1977 by the National Council of Churches.
In 1994, Wells earned another PhD in molecular and cellular biology from the University of California, Berkeley. After receiving his doctorate, he worked at a position he described as "a post-doctoral research biologist at Berkeley, writing articles critical of Darwinism." Shortly after that Wells joined Phillip E. Johnson, father of the intelligent design movement, at the Discovery Institute. He now serves as a fellow at the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture, the hub of the intelligent design movement, and at the International Society for Complexity, Information, and Design, which also promotes intelligent design.
Wells appeared on a panel at Harvard with Stephen Palumbi in November 2001, which his supporters lauded as a "home run". Other observers stated that Wells' performance was "uneventful".
Wells died on September 19, 2024, his 82nd birthday.
Opposition to Darwinian evolution
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Of his student days at Unification Theological Seminary (1976–78), Wells said, "One of the things that Father advised us to do at UTS was to pray to seek God's plan for our lives." Wells later described that plan: "To defend and articulate Unification theology especially in relation to Darwinian evolution."
Wells stated that his religious doctoral studies at Yale, which were paid for by the Unification Church, focused on the "root of the conflict between Darwinian evolution and Christian doctrine" and encompassed the whole of Christian theology within a focus of Darwinian controversies. He said:
...I learned (to my surprise) that biblical chronology played almost no role in the 19th- century controversies, since most theologians had already accepted geological evidence for the age of the earth and re-interpreted the days in Genesis as long periods of time. Instead, the central issue was design.
Wells said that "destroying Darwinism" was his motive for studying Christian theology at Yale and going on to seek his second PhD at Berkeley, studying biology and in particular embryology:
Father's words, my studies, and my prayers convinced me that I should devote my life to destroying Darwinism, just as many of my fellow Unificationists had already devoted their lives to destroying Marxism. When Father chose me (along with about a dozen other seminary graduates) to enter a Ph.D. program in 1978, I welcomed the opportunity to prepare myself for battle.
Wells's statement and others like it are viewed by the scientific community as evidence that Wells lacks proper scientific objectivity and mischaracterizes evolution by ignoring and misrepresenting the evidence supporting it while pursuing an agenda promoting notions supporting his religious beliefs in its place.
He has written articles for the Discovery Institute, WorldNetDaily, Origins & Design, and other sympathetic publications attacking evolution and defending intelligent design. In 1997, he presented a paper entitled "Evolution by Design" at the Unification Church sponsored International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences in Washington, D.C.
In 1999, Wells debated with the New Mexicans for Science and Reason. He was one of the contributors to Natural History magazine's 2002 debate between intelligent design advocates and evolution supporters. In 2005, he debated Massimo Pigliucci on the PBS talk show Uncommon Knowledge. Pigliucci said that Wells "clearly lied" during his debates and misrepresented his agenda and science, as well as not understanding some of the theories he tried to attack.
Wells is one of the signatories of the Discovery Institute's "A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism," a petition which the intelligent design movement uses to promote intelligent design by attempting to cast doubt on evolution. He is also the author of "Ten questions to ask your biology teacher about evolution" for high school students, which is published by the Discovery Institute. The National Center for Science Education has issued a list of answers to the questions.
Icons of Evolution
Main article: Icons of EvolutionIn 2000 Wells published his book Icons of Evolution, in which he discusses 10 examples which he says show that many of the most commonly accepted arguments supporting evolution are invalid.
There have been 12 detailed reviews of Icons, from scholars familiar with the subject matter, which have come to the consensus that the book's claims are a politically motivated exaggeration and misrepresentation of a scattering of minor issues. Scholars quoted in the work have accused Wells of purposely misquoting them and misleading readers. Jerry Coyne wrote of Icons, "Wells's 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."
Kansas evolution hearings
Main article: Kansas evolution hearingsIn 2005, Wells participated in the Kansas evolution hearings, which were boycotted by mainstream scientists. There Wells testified:
I became convinced that the Darwinian theory is false because it conflicts with the evidence. ... I think the earth is probably four-and-a-half billion or so years old. But I'll tell you this, I used to-- I would have said, a few years ago, I'm convinced it's four-and-a-half billion years old. But the truth is I have not looked at the evidence. And I have become increasingly suspicious of the evidence that is presented to me and that's why at this point I would say probably it's four-and-a-half billion years old, but I haven't looked at the evidence. ... There are already scientists-- respected scientists in this country who do experiments on things that most people consider supernatural, such as prayer. When Newton proposed the theory of gravitation it was dismissed as supernaturalism because it was action at a distance. What constitutes supernaturalism in today's science may very well not be supernatural in tomorrow's science.
Prior to the evolution hearings, in December 2000 after the Pratt County, Kansas, school board revised its tenth-grade biology curriculum at the urging of intelligent design proponents to include material that encourages students to question the theory of evolution, The Pratt Tribune published a letter from Jerry Coyne challenging Wells's characterization in an article of his work on peppered moths, saying that his article appended to the Pratt standards was misused and being mischaracterized:
Creationists such as Jonathan Wells claim that my criticism of these experiments casts strong doubt on Darwinism. But this characterization is false. ... My call for additional research on the moths has been wrongly characterized by creationists as revealing some fatal flaw in the theory of evolution. ... It is a classic creationist tactic (as exemplified in Wells' book, "Icons of Evolution") to assert that healthy scientific debate is really a sign that evolutionists are either committing fraud or buttressing a crumbling theory.
The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design
In 2006, Wells published his second major book, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design, which was part of a series published by Regnery Publishing. The book was praised by Tom Bethell, author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science (2005), but was described by Reed A. Cartwright of The Panda's Thumb weblog as being "not only politically incorrect but incorrect in most other ways as well: scientifically, logically, historically, legally, academically, and morally." Cartwright also edited a chapter-by-chapter critique of the book. A quote from the book linking evolution to eugenics, abortion and racism appeared on Starbucks paper cups in 2007.
HIV/AIDS denialism
Main article: HIV/AIDS denialismIn 1991, Wells and his mentor Phillip E. Johnson signed an open letter which said in full:
It is widely believed by the general public that a retrovirus called HIV causes the group diseases called AIDS. Many biochemical scientists now question this hypothesis. We propose that a thorough reappraisal of the existing evidence for and against this hypothesis be conducted by a suitable independent group. We further propose that critical epidemiological studies be devised and undertaken.
Wells and Johnson have been criticized, along with others, for their questioning of the scientific and medical consensus that HIV causes AIDS. In the Washington University Law Review, Matthew J. Brauer, Barbara Forrest, and Steven G. Gey faulted Wells, Johnson, and others for denying the HIV/AIDS connection and promoting denialism via a petition which did not have any scientific support.
Publications
Articles in peer-reviewed journals
- Wells, Jonathan (1985). "Inertial force as a possible factor in mitosis". BioSystems. 17 (4): 301–315. Bibcode:1985BiSys..17..301W. doi:10.1016/0303-2647(85)90046-2. ISSN 0303-2647. PMID 3902112.
- Larabell, Carolyn A.; Rowning, Brian A.; Wells, Jonathan; Wu, Mike; Gerhart, John C. (April 1996). "Confocal microscopy analysis of living Xenopus eggs and the mechanism of cortical rotation" (PDF). Development. 122 (4): 1281–1289. doi:10.1242/dev.122.4.1281. OCLC 15088415. PMID 8620855. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
- Rowning, Brian A.; Wells, Jonathan; Wu, Mike; Gerhart, John C.; Moon, Randall T.; Larabell, Carolyn A. (February 18, 1997). "Microtubule-mediated transport of organelles and localization of β-catenin to the future dorsal side of Xenopus eggs". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 94 (4): 1224–1229. Bibcode:1997PNAS...94.1224R. doi:10.1073/pnas.94.4.1224. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 19772. PMID 9037034.
Books
- Wells, Jonathan (1988). Charles Hodges' Critique of Darwinism: An Historical-Critical Analysis of Concepts Basic to the 19th Century Debate. illustrations by Jody F. Sjogren. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press. ISBN 978-0-88946-671-5. LCCN 87031222. OCLC 16924943.
- —— (2000). Icons of Evolution: Science or Myth?: Why Much of What We Teach About Evolution is Wrong. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing. ISBN 978-0-89526-276-9. LCCN 00062544. OCLC 44768911.
- —— (2006). The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing. ISBN 978-1-596-98013-6. LCCN 2008270992. OCLC 70870578.
- Dembski, William A.; Wells, Jonathan (2008). How to be an Intellectually Fulfilled Atheist (or not) (1st ed.). Wilmington, DE: ISI Books. ISBN 978-1-933-85984-2. LCCN 2008934995. OCLC 232128215.
- ——; —— (2008). Dembski, William A. (ed.). The Design of Life: Discovering Signs of Intelligence in Biological Systems. Dallas, TX: Foundation for Thought and Ethics. ISBN 978-0-980-02130-1. LCCN 2009281462. OCLC 183624199.
- Wells, Jonathan (2011). The Myth of Junk DNA (1st ed.). Seattle, WA: Discovery Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-936-59900-4. LCCN 2011925471. OCLC 739090951.
Dissertations
Wells, John Corrigan. 1986. CHARLES HODGE'S CRITIQUE OF DARWINISM: THE ARGUMENT TO DESIGN (EVOLUTION, THEOLOGY). Ph.D. Dissertation, Yale University, 265 pages.
Wells, John Corrigan. 1994. A confocal microscopy study of microtubule arrays involved in cortical rotation during the first cell cycle of Xenopus embryos. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of California, Berkeley, 124 pages.
See also
- List of Unification movement people
- Unification Church
- Unification Church and science
- Unification Church of the United States
Notes
- Wells, Jonathan (November 2004). "Using Intelligent Design Theory to Guide Scientific Research" (PDF). Progress in Complexity, Information and Design. 3.1.2. ISSN 1555-5089. OCLC 315922913. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-05-13. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
- Gishlick, Alan D. (November 23, 2006). "Icon 4 — Haeckel's Embryos". National Center for Science Education. Berkeley, CA: National Center for Science Education. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
- ^ Wells, Jonathan. "Darwinism: Why I Went for a Second Ph.D." True Parents Organization. Denver, CO. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
- ^ Forrest, Barbara (March 2000). Dembski, William A (ed.). "The Rise and Fall of Baylor University's Michael Polanyi Center (Barbara Forrest's Letter to Simon Blackburn)". DesignInference.com. William Dembski. Archived from the original on 2008-01-06. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
As I stated earlier, Johnson, Dembski, and their associates have assumed the task of destroying 'Darwinism,' 'evolutionary naturalism,' 'scientific materialism,' 'methodological naturalism,' 'philosophical naturalism,' and other 'isms' they use as synonyms for evolution.
Quoted in "Rebuttal to Reports by Opposing Expert Witnesses" (PDF) by William A. Dembski (May 14, 2005). - "Comparing Darwin's Method with That of Scientific Creationists". 2008-12-31.
- ^ Wells, Jonathan. "INTRODUCTION to ICONS of EVOLUTION: Science or Myth? Why much of what we teach about evolution is wrong". Icons of Evolution. Seattle, WA: Discovery Institute. Archived from the original on 2013-12-29. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
Biological evolution is the theory that all living things are modified descendants of a common ancestor that lived in the distant past. It claims that you and I are descendants of ape-like ancestors, and that they in turn came from still more primitive animals.
...much of what we teach about evolution is wrong. This fact raises troubling questions about the status of Darwinian evolution. If the icons of evolution are supposed to be our best evidence for Darwin's theory, and all of them are false or misleading, what does that tell us about the theory? Is it science, or myth? - ^ Coyne, Jerry (April 12, 2001). "Creationism by stealth". Nature (Book review). 410 (6830): 745–46. Bibcode:2001Natur.410..745C. doi:10.1038/35071144.
- Wells, Jonathan (June 12, 2002). "Critics Rave Over Icons of Evolution: A Response to Published Reviews". Center for Science and Culture. Seattle, WA: Discovery Institute. Retrieved 2007-08-13.
Several of them grossly exaggerate or distort the truth, while others are patently false. Yet they are found year after year in almost all textbooks dealing with evolutionary theory, and they invariably accompany other material promoting that theory. When someone points out that the textbook examples misrepresent the facts, Darwinists don't rush to correct them. Instead, they rush to defend them.
- ^ Forrest & Gross 2004, p. 98. Reviews specifically cited include those by David Ussery, Massimo Pigliucci, Kevin Padian and Alan Gishlick.
- Humburg, Burt (August 26, 2006). Cartwright, Reed A. (ed.). "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design Review: Why Should Words Have Meanings? (Chapter 1)". The Panda's Thumb (Blog). Houston, TX: The TalkOrigins Foundation, Inc. Archived from the original on November 26, 2006. Retrieved 2007-02-04.
In order to advance his thesis, Wells has to convey the idea that 'Darwinism' pits itself against traditional Christianity: to allow pupils to learn it is to give them up to atheism, decadence, liberalism and to lose the culture war.
Note that Wells does not wage war against evolution. In fact, he is at pains to make it (somewhat) clear that he wages war against 'Darwinism', which in context might sound like the sort of thing any sensible Christian would want to guard against. Unfortunately, Wells isn't exactly clear what he means by Darwinism as opposed to evolution.
Easily, one of the prominent faults of Wells's screed is a pervasive confusion between terms. Words, like 'Darwinism' and 'Traditional Christianity', seem to mean whatever Wells wants them to mean for that specific sentence. In many cases words are used without regard for his own stated definitions and usually without regard to usage elsewhere in his book. There are several possible reasons for this confusion in terms. First, Wells confusion may be by design. I have argued elsewhere that creationists intend to confuse their audiences when they argue. Second, if you review the acknowledgements page, you'll read how Wells used many authors to help him prepare this text. It is possible that Wells's editorship was so insufficient that he allowed a term that makes up part of the book's very title to have a flexible meaning. My suspicion is that there was both disparity between the understanding of key terms by different authors as well as an intention to confuse. - Cashill 2005, p. 174
- ^ Wells, Jonathan. "Jonathan Wells Then". The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design. Seattle, WA: The Discovery Institute. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
- ^ Numbers 2006, p. 381
- "Board of Trustees". True Parents Organization. Denver, CO. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
- ^ Antal, Chris (February 2000). "New Hope for Dialogue with National Council of Churches of Christ". True Parents Organization. Denver, CO. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
- "CULTIVATING FRIENDS REV. MOON HOSTS RELIGIOUS SCHOLARS". Philadelphia Daily News. November 21, 1985.
- Wells, Jonathan. "Marriage and the Family: the Unification Blessing". True Parents Organization. Denver, CO. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
- Lanham, Cheryl Wetzstein (September 1994). "True Subject and Object, Not Men and Women". Unification News (Letter to the editor (reprint)). New York: Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity. ISSN 1061-0871. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
- "Unificationist Photos from 1997 and 1998". True Parents Organization. Denver, CO. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
- "Jonathan Wells, Senior Fellow - CSC". Discovery Institute. Seattle, WA. Archived from the original on 2013-03-14. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
- "Society Fellows". International Society for Complexity, Information, and Design. Princeton, NJ. Archived from the original on 2013-01-16. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
- "Intelligent Design and Peer Review". American Association for the Advancement of Science. Washington, D.C. Archived from the original on 2007-03-12. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
- Johnson, Phillip E. (2001-12-02). "The Weekly Edge Update: Wells Hits a Home Run at Harvard". Access Research Network. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
- Miller, Jeslyn A. (2001-11-29). "Panelists Discuss Validity Of Evolutionary Theory". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
- Dawkins, Richard (2006-05-14). "Why I Won't Debate Creationists". The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science. Archived from the original on 2013-03-12. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
- Evolution vs Creation debate—Harvard Professor Stephen Palumbi vs Jonathan Wells. Youtube. 2013-11-17. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
- Esensten, Jonathan H. (2003-03-31). "Death to Intelligent Design". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
- Klinghoffer, David (September 24, 2024). "Farewell to Jonathan Wells, Iconoclastic Scientist". Evolution News & Science Today. Seattle: Discovery Institute.
- "About". JonathanWells.org. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
- "Dr. Jonathan Wells Returns to UTS". The Cornerstone. May–June 1997. ISSN 0197-5196. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
- Andrew, Stephen (January 15, 2006). "Know Your Creationists". Daily Kos (Blog). Berkeley, CA: Kos Media, LLC. OCLC 59226519. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
- Wilkins, John S. (March 30, 2004). "Mything the point: Jonathan Wells' bad faith". The Panda's Thumb (Blog). Houston, TX: The TalkOrigins Foundation, Inc. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved 2014-01-18.
- Myers, PZ (January 24, 2007). "Jonathan Wells knows nothing about development, part I". Pharyngula (Blog). ScienceBlogs LLC. Archived from the original on December 26, 2011. Retrieved 2014-01-18.
- Smith, Tara C. (January 31, 2007). "Whereby Jon Wells is smacked down by an undergrad in the Yale Daily News". Aetiology (Blog). ScienceBlogs LLC. Archived from the original on May 7, 2012. Retrieved 2014-01-18.
- "Article Database". Discovery Institute. Seattle, WA. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2013-12-12. List of articles written by Jonathan Wells.
- Wells, Jonathan. "Evolution by Design". True Parents Organization. Denver, CO. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
- "The C-Files: Jonathan Wells". New Mexicans for Science and Reason. Peralta, NM. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
- Milner, Richard; Maestro, Vittorio, eds. (April 2002). "Intelligent Design?". Natural History. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
- Robinson, Peter (host); Massimo, Pigliucci; Wells, Jonathan (January 14, 2005). "MONKEY BUSINESS: Evolution and Intelligent Design". Uncommon Knowledge. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution. PBS. KTEH. Archived from the original on 2011-05-19. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
- Pigliucci 2002, pp. 44–45
- Pennock, Robert T. (September 2003). "Creationism and Intelligent Design" (PDF). Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics. 4: 143–163. doi:10.1146/annurev.genom.4.070802.110400. PMID 14527300. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
- Chang, Kenneth (February 21, 2006). "Few Biologists but Many Evangelicals Sign Anti-Evolution Petition". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
- "A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism" (PDF). Discovery Institute. Seattle, WA. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
- ^ "10 Questions, and Answers, About Evolution". The New York Times. August 23, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
- "A Teacher on the Front Line". National Center for Science Education. Berkeley, CA. August 24, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
- "10 Answers to Jonathan Wells's '10 Questions'". National Center for Science Education. Berkeley, CA. October 17, 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
- "Scientist Exposes Evolution's Weaknesses in Politically Incorrect Book About Darwinism and Intelligent Design". Center for Science and Culture. Seattle, WA: Discovery Institute. August 2, 2006. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
- Forrest & Gross 2004, p. 111. Quoting Bruce Grant: "But should we blame Ms Rider for her outrage upon learning that moths were glued to trees? No. Instead I blame Dr Wells, who wrote the article she cites as her source of information. While he has done no work on industrial mechanism, he has written opinion about that work. To one outside the field, he passes as a scholar, complete with Ph.D. Unfortunately, Dr Wells is intellectually dishonest. . . . He lavishly dresses his essays in quotations from experts (including some from me) which are generally taken out of context, and he systematically omits relevant details to make our conclusions seem ill founded, flawed, or fraudulent."
- ^ Coyne, Jerry (December 6, 2000). "Criticism of moth study no challenge to evolution". The Pratt Tribune (Letter to the editor). Pratt, KS: GateHouse Media. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
Creationists such as Jonathan Wells claim that my criticism of these experiments casts strong doubt on Darwinism. But this characterization is false. ... My call for additional research on the moths has been wrongly characterized by creationists as revealing some fatal flaw in the theory of evolution. ... It is a classic creationist tactic (as exemplified in Wells' book, 'Icons of Evolution') to assert that healthy scientific debate is really a sign that evolutionists are either committing fraud or buttressing a crumbling theory.
- Padian, Kevin; Gishlick, Alan D. (March 2002). "The Talented Mr. Wells". The Quarterly Review of Biology. 77 (1): 33–37. doi:10.1086/339201.
- Gishlick, Alan D. (October 19, 2008). "Why much of what Jonathan Wells writes about evolution is wrong". National Center for Science Education. Berkeley, CA. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
- Matzke, Nick. "Icon of Obfuscation". TalkOrigins Archive. Houston, TX: The TalkOrigins Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
- Scott, Eugenie C. (June 2001). "Fatally Flawed Iconoclasm". Science (Book review). 292 (5525): 2257–2258. doi:10.1126/science.1060716. S2CID 153963713. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
- Pigliucci 2002, pp. 252–264
- Forrest & Gross 2004, p. 105
- Weisenberg, Richard (December 16, 2000). "Challenging ideas against teaching of evolution". The Philadelphia Inquirer (Letter to the editor). Interstate General Media. p. A16. Archived from the original on December 21, 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-12. Letter in response to "Let's Change Science Standards And Let Students Do Real Science" by Jonathan Wells (December 11, 2000).
- "Kansas Evolution Hearings: Jonathan Wells, Bruce Simat, Giuseppe Sermonti, and Ralph Seelke". TalkOrigins Archive (Transcript from the Kansas evolution hearings). Houston, TX: The TalkOrigins Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
- Bethell, Tom (September 1, 2006). "'Politically Incorrect' Series Takes on Darwinism and Intelligent Design". Human Events. Washington, D.C.: Eagle Publishing, Inc. ISSN 0018-7194. Archived from the original on 2013-12-20. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
- ^ Cartwright, Reed A., ed. (August 19, 2006). "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design Review". The Panda's Thumb (Blog). Houston, TX: The TalkOrigins Foundation, Inc. Archived from the original on September 27, 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-04.
- Rosen, Rebecca (May 16, 2009). "Starbucks stirs things up with controversial quotes". The Denver Post. MediaNews Group. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
- "The Group". VirusMyth: A Rethinking AID$ Website. Hilversum, Netherlands: Robert Laarhoven. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
- Quittman, Beth (September 8, 2006). "Undercover at the Discovery Institute". Seattlest (Blog). New York: Gothamist LLC. Archived from the original on October 20, 2006. Retrieved 2008-07-17. Wells' "personal peculiarities include membership in the Moonies and support for AIDS reappraisal - the theory that the HIV is not the primary cause of AIDS."
- ^ "Aids 'denialism' gathers strange bedfellows". The Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, BC: Postmedia Network Inc. June 17, 2006. Archived from the original on July 30, 2014. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
- Brauer, Matthew J.; Forrest, Barbara; Gey, Steven G. (2005). "Is It Science Yet?: Intelligent Design Creationism and the Constitution". Washington University Law Review. 83 (1): 79–80. ISSN 2166-7993. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-20. Retrieved 2009-06-23.
References
- Cashill, Jack (2005). Hoodwinked: How Intellectual Hucksters Have Hijacked American Culture. Nashville, TN: Nelson Current. ISBN 978-1-59555-011-8. LCCN 2005006138. OCLC 58386577.
- Forrest, Barbara; Gross, Paul R. (2004). Creationism's Trojan Horse: The Wedge of Intelligent Design. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-515742-0. LCCN 2002192677. OCLC 50913078.
- Numbers, Ronald L. (2006) . The Creationists: From Scientific Creationism to Intelligent Design (Expanded ed.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-02339-0. LCCN 2006043675. OCLC 69734583.
- Pigliucci, Massimo (2002). Denying Evolution: Creationism, Scientism, and the Nature of Science. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates. ISBN 978-0-87893-659-5. LCCN 2002005190. OCLC 49530100.
External links
- Jonathan Wells biography from the Discovery Institute
- Articles by Wells Archived 2011-07-26 at the Wayback Machine from the Discovery Institute
- Articles by Wells from the Access Research Network
- "Icons of Evolution FAQs" from talk.origins
- Wells's testimony at the Kansas evolution hearings
- "Icons of Evolution? – Why much of what Jonathan Wells writes about evolution is wrong" by Alan D. Gishlick
- "10 Answers to Jonathan Wells's '10 Questions'" from National Center for Science Education
- Chapter by chapter analysis of Wells's The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design by Reed A. Cartwright, The Panda's Thumb
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- 1942 births
- 2024 deaths
- Intelligent design advocates
- Fellows of the International Society for Complexity, Information, and Design
- American Unificationists
- Unification Theological Seminary graduates
- Discovery Institute fellows and advisors
- HIV/AIDS denialists
- UC Berkeley College of Letters and Science alumni
- Pseudoscientific biologists
- 20th-century American writers
- 21st-century American writers
- Yale University alumni
- Inmates of United States Disciplinary Barracks
- Writers from New York City