William B. Provine | |
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 Provine in 2008 | |
| Born | (1942-02-19)February 19, 1942 Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | September 1, 2015(2015-09-01) (aged 73) Horseheads, New York, U.S. |
| Employer | Cornell University |
William Ball Provine (February 19, 1942 – September 1, 2015)[1] was an Americanhistorian of science and ofevolutionary biology andpopulation genetics. He was the Andrew H. and James S. Tisch Distinguished University Professor atCornell University and was a professor in theDepartments of History, Science and Technology Studies, and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.
Provine was born inTennessee. He held a B.S. in mathematics (1962), and an M.A. (1965) and Ph.D. (1970) in History of Science from theUniversity of Chicago.[2] He joined the Cornell faculty in 1969. He suffered seizures in 1995 due to a brain tumour.[3] Provine died on September 1, 2015, due to complications from the tumor.[1]
Provine's Ph.D. thesis, later published as a book,[4] documented the early origins of theoretical population genetics in the conflicts between thebiostatistics andMendelian schools of thought. He documented later developments in theoretical population genetics in his biography ofSewall Wright,[5] who was still alive and available for interviews. In this book, Provine criticizes Wright for confounding three different concepts ofadaptive landscape: genotype to fitness landscapes, allele frequency to fitness landscapes, and phenotype to fitness landscapes. Provine later grew critical of Wright's views ongenetic drift, instead attributing observed effects to the consequences of inbreeding and consequent selection at linked sites.John H. Gillespie credits Provine with stimulating his interest in the topic ofhitchhiking or "genetic draft" as an alternative to genetic drift.[6] Provine later published his critique of genetic drift in a book.[7] Provine defended the importance of mathematics' contribution to themodern evolutionary synthesis.[8]
In 1970, Provine was instrumental in the founding of Cornell'sRisley Residential College. He was the first faculty member in residence.
Provine was a philosopher,atheist, and critic ofintelligent design. He engaged in prominent debates with theist philosophers and scientists about the existence of God and the viability of intelligent design. He debated the founder of theintelligent design movement,Phillip E. Johnson, and the two had a friendly relationship. Provine said that his course on evolutionary biology began by having his students read Johnson's book,Darwin on Trial.[9]
Provine was adeterminist, as he rejected the idea that humans exercisefree will.[3][10] Provine asserted that there is no evidence for the existence ofGod, nolife after death, no absolute foundation for moral right and wrong, and no ultimate meaning or purpose for life. He was once aPresbyterian like his friend and intellectual rival Johnson, saying their worldviews had been much the same before he became an atheist.[11]
Professor Provine appeared inBen Stein's movieExpelled: No Intelligence Allowed. Provine supervised the doctoral dissertation written byBad Religion memberGreg Graffin. Graffin was a student of history of science at Cornell. Provine also supervisedSteve Leveen's sociology dissertation in 1982.
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