Jerry A. Coyne | |
|---|---|
 Coyne in 2024 | |
| Born | Jerry Allen Coyne (1949-12-30)December 30, 1949 (age 75) |
| Alma mater | College of William & Mary (BS) Harvard University (PhD) |
| Known for | Speciation and evolutionary genetics, particularly as they involve the fruit fly, Drosophila, and the books: |
| Awards | Richard Dawkins Award (2015) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Ecology Evolution |
| Institutions | University of Chicago University of Maryland |
| Doctoral advisor | Richard Lewontin |
| Notable students | H. Allen Orr,Mohamed Noor |
| Website | whyevolutionistrue |
Jerry Allen Coyne (born December 30, 1949)[4][5] is an Americanbiologist andskeptic known for his work onspeciation and his commentary onintelligent design. A professor emeritus at theUniversity of Chicago in the Department of Ecology and Evolution, he has published numerous papers on the theory ofevolution. His concentration is speciation andecological andevolutionary genetics, particularly as they involve the fruit fly,Drosophila.[6] In 2023 he became a fellow with theCommittee for Skeptical Inquiry.[7]
He is the author of the textSpeciation and the bestselling non-fiction bookWhy Evolution Is True.[8] Coyne maintains a website and writes for his blog, also calledWhy Evolution Is True.[9] He is ahard determinist.[10]
Coyne gained attention outside of the scientific community as a public critic of religion. As a proponent ofNew Atheism,[11] he is often cited with atheists such asRichard Dawkins andSam Harris. He is the author of the bookFaith Versus Fact.[12]
Jerry Allen Coyne was born December 30, 1949.[4] He was raised by Jewish parents.[13] He graduated with a B.S. in biology from theCollege of William & Mary in 1971, receiving theBotetourt Medal for academic achievement.[14] According to Coyne, while in college, he was involved in activism againstapartheid and protested against theVietnam War.[12] His graduate work atRockefeller University underTheodosius Dobzhansky was interrupted when he was drafted.[clarification needed] He earned a Ph.D. in biology atHarvard University in 1978, studying underRichard Lewontin, and went on to do a postdoctoral fellowship at theUniversity of California, Davis, with Timothy Prout.[citation needed]
Coyne was awarded aGuggenheim Fellowship in 1988.[15] He was elected to theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2007.[16] He received theEmperor Has No Clothes Award from theFreedom from Religion Foundation in 2011.[17]
Coyne has served as Vice President (1996) and President (2011) of theSociety for the Study of Evolution. He has been associate editor of the publicationsEvolution (1985–1988; 1994–2000) andThe American Naturalist (1990–1993). He has taughtevolutionary biology,speciation,genetic analysis, social issues and scientific knowledge, scientific speaking and writing.[citation needed] He considers evolutionary biology to be "... more like the fine arts of science, in that it's aesthetically quite satisfying, but it also happens to be true, which is an extra bonus."[12]
His writing has been published in the scientific journalsNature, andScience, as well as news and magazine publications includingThe New York Times, theTimes Literary Supplement, andThe New Republic. His research interests include population and evolutionary genetics,speciation, ecological andquantitative genetics,chromosome evolution, andsperm competition.
Coyne was a consultant for the defense during themurder trial of O. J. Simpson and expressed concerns that theDNA evidence implicating Simpson could be faulty.[18] In 2024, shortly after Simpson's death, Coyne shared his belief that Simpson was "guilty as hell" and the verdict was "a miscarriage of justice largely due to the incompetence of the prosecution", which had caused him to refuse subsequent requests to serve as anexpert witness.[19]
In a 1996 critique of the theory of intelligent-design creationism, Coyne wrote aNew Republic article onOf Pandas and People (a book review), which started a long history of writing on evolution and creationism.[20]
The Ecuadoran frogAtelopus coynei is named after Coyne, who collected theholotype in a swamp on a frogging trip to westernEcuador as a student in the late 1970s.[21]
Coyne is a critic ofcreationism,theistic evolution, andintelligent design, which he calls "the latestpseudoscientific incarnation of religiouscreationism, cleverly crafted by a new group of enthusiasts to circumvent recent legal restrictions."[22][23][24][25]
Coyne lists the following evidence for evolution, as detailed in his bookWhy Evolution Is True and elsewhere:[26]
Transitional fossils provide rich evidence for evolution.[27]Charles Darwin predicted such fossils in 1859, and those later identified as such include:[26]
The evidence includes transitional fossils and occurrences in the fossil record at times between their putative ancestors and their more modern relatives.[26]
Coyne considers himself asecular Jew,[13] and an outspoken anti-theist. As a proponent ofNew Atheism,[11] he is often cited with atheists such asRichard Dawkins andSam Harris.[citation needed] He supports the theses ofmetaphysical naturalism and theconflict thesis.[citation needed] He claims that religion and science are fundamentally incompatible, that only rational evaluation of evidence is capable of reliably discovering the world and the way it works, and that scientists who hold religious views are only reflective of the idea, "that people can hold two conflicting notions in their heads at the same time" (cognitive dissonance). He has argued that the incompatibility of science and faith is based on irreconcilable differences in methodology, philosophy, and outcomes when they try to discern truths about the universe.[28]
Coyne produces a website in blog format titledWhy Evolution Is True.[29] As of January 10, 2023, it had over 73,000 subscribers.[30] On the blog, he has covered subjects spanning science, medical ethics, atheism, determinism, philosophy and free speech.[12]
Coyne is an advocate of skepticism, and has stated that "all scientific progress requires a climate of strong skepticism."[31] He has participated in public forums and debates withtheists.
Coyne offers criticism of creationists who appear closed minded by adhering to a literal Biblical view. He questions the creationist concept of animals diverging only withinkinds, which is in itself an admission of transitional intermediates between very different groups (i.e., whales and their terrestrial relatives) found throughout the fossil record.[32] In aNew Republic article, Coyne wrote that "we have many examples of transitional fossils between what anyone would consider different kinds: fish and amphibians (like Tiktaalik, whichNye mentioned), between amphibians and reptiles, between reptiles and mammals, between reptiles and birds, between land animals and whales, and of course, between early and modern humans, with early fossils showing intermediacy between the features of apelike ancestors and modern humans."[32] Coyne believes that both sides of such debates between evolutionists and young earth creationists could benefit from a better understanding of the fossil record and for modern tools such asIsochron dating. He considers that the inability of creationists to address these subjects fully suggests that "religion can poison one's mind so deeply that it becomes immunized to the real truth about the cosmos."[32]
He has stated that he believes in free speech for all and does not like seeing universities cancel speakers, such asSteve Bannon, because of protests, saying "I can't think of a single person I would urge the University to disinvite. Not a single person – not a white racist, not an anti-immigration person. Free speech has to defend the most odious people."[12]
Coyne is ahard determinist.[10] He came to believe in the idea ofdeterminism after reading a paper byAnthony Cashmore on determinism and the criminal justice system. He states that recognising there is no free will makes one more empathetic and less judgmental: "A lot of politics—particularly Republican politics—is based on the supposition that people are responsible for their own lives. So, for example, people who are on welfare, or homeless people, are treated as if they could have done otherwise. They could have gotten a job, they could have gotten married and had a father for their kids. But they couldn't, because they're victims of circumstance."[12]
On December 29, 2024, Coyne wrote an article for the website of theFreedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) which argued that sex is biological, binary, and immutable.[33] The FFRF's presidents removed the article one day later, describing its publication as an error of judgement on their part.[34] Coyne resigned from the board of honorary members in response.[35] His resignation was followed by those ofSteven Pinker andRichard Dawkins, after which the FFRF dissolved the honorary board.[34][36]
According to an article inThe Chicago Maroon, Coyne retired in 2015 and continues to pursue publishing and work in his lab at the university.[12] He considers himself to be a traditional liberal while also strongly supporting free speech.[12]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic, Coyne requested permission to access the University of Chicago's Botany Pond to feed a female duck and her ducklings in the event of a campus lockdown; he had named the mother Honey, and fed the group until they migrated. The university granted his request. Honey has returned for several years to the pond, and Coyne has persisted with feeding the ducks breeding there.[37]
Notables born on this day include: [...] 1949 – Jerry Coyne, superannuated evolutionary biologist, your host.
As I'll show in the next chapter, the incompatibility [between religion and science] rests on the differences in the methodology and philosophy used in determining those truths, and the outcomes of their searches.
