Professor Emeritus in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Chicago. His scientific work is on the genetics of species formation, the problem raised discussed (but not solved) by Darwin in On the Origin of Species.
Besides 125 scientific papers, Jerry has written a scholarly book about his research area (Speciation) and two popular books, Why Evolution is True and Faith versus Fact: Why Science and Religion are Incompatible. He’s also written over 160 popular articles and book reviews in places like The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Republic, The Times Literary Supplement, The Guardian, Slate, and The Nation.
He is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a recipient of the 2011 “Emperor Has No Clothes” Award from the Freedom from Religion Foundation as well as the 2015 Richard Dawkins Award from the Atheist Alliance of America.
Coyne’s blog, Why Evolution is True, has 30,000 subscribers and discusses not only the latest research in evolutionary biology, but also a variety of unrelated issues, including philosophy, politics, food, and cats. You can learn more and follow his activities via Facebook, Instagram and X.
During the 8th ŚFN (Sunday, 8 Dec; and Monday, 9 Dec), Prof. Jerry Coyne will deliver two talks:
● Why Evolution is STILL True
Despite the mountains of evidence from various scientific areas that support the idea that evolution has occurred (and is propelled largely by natural selection), many people still refuse to accept evolution. The talk will summarise the evidence from diverse fields that all come together to support the truth of evolution and give reasons why more than 70% of Americans don’t adhere to the form of naturalistic evolution.
● Why Science and Religion are Completely Incompatible
A widespread claim is that science and religion are compatible because there are many religious scientists as well as science-friendly religious authorities. But this claim is wrong, for those people are simultaneously embracing two different and incompatible ‘ways of knowing’ what is true about our universe. The talk will define ‘religion’ and ‘science’ and explain the sense in which I see them as incompatible. The conclusion is that only the toolkit of modern science can tell us what’s really empirically true.