Jonathan Wells (intelligent design advocate)

61

Jonathan Wells (intelligent design advocate) : biography

1942 –

AIDS denialism

In 1991, Wells and his mentor Phillip E. Johnson signed a petition which said in full:

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 Quarterly, critics 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 designed to garner publicity but without any scientific support.

Opposition to evolution

Of his student days at Unification Theological Seminary (1976–78), Wells said, "One of the things that Father [Reverend Sun Myung Moon] advised us to do at UTS was to pray to seek God’s plan for our lives." He later described that plan: "To defend and articulate Unification theology especially in relation to Darwinian evolution." Cornerstone, 1997.

Wells stated that his religious doctoral studies at Yale, which were paid for by the Unification Church,, Daily Kos 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:

Wells said that "destroying Darwinism" was his motive for studying Christian theology at Yale and going on to seek his second Ph.D. at Berkeley, studying biology and in particular embryology:

 He has written articles for the Discovery Institute, WorldNetDaily, Origins & Design, and other sympathetic publications attacking evolution and defending intelligent design., Discovery Institute 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 ID advocates and evolution supporters., Natural History magazine In 2005 he debated Massimo Pigliucci on the PBS talk show Uncommon Knowledge. Pigliucci said Wells that "clearly lied" during his debates and misrepresented his agenda and science, as well as not understanding some of the theories he tries to attack.Massimo Pigliucci. Denying Evolution: Creationism, Scientism, and the Nature of Science (Sinauer, 2002): ISBN 0-87893-659-9 page 44-45

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

Wells is best known Discovery Institute, August 2, 2006

for his 2002 book Icons of Evolution, in which he discusses ten examples which he says show that many of the most commonly accepted arguments supporting evolution are invalid. The book is rejected by many members of the scientific community and has received much criticism by those opposed to his views. by Alan D. Gishlick () by Nick MatzkeMassimo Pigliucci. Denying Evolution: Creationism, Scientism, and the Nature of Science. (Sinauer, 2002): ISBN 0-87893-659-9 page 252-264Barbara Forrest and Paul R. Gross. Creationism's Trojan Horse: The Wedge of Intelligent Design. 2004, page 105Richard Weisenberg, "Challenging ideas against teaching of evolution," Philadelphia Inquirer, Saturday, December 16, 2000 Page: A16 Edition: D Section: EDITORIAL 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 extreme exaggeration and misrepresentation of a scattering of minor issues.Creationism's Trojan Horse, Barbara Forrest and Paul R. Gross, p 98. Reviews specifically cited include those by David Ussery, Massimo Pigliucci, Kevin Padian and Alan Gishlick. Scholars quoted in the work have accused Wells of purposely misquoting them and misleading readers.Quoting Dr Bruce Grant, Professor of Biology at College of William and Mary: "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 [an] opinion about tht 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." in Barbara Forrest and Paul R. Gross. Creationism's Trojan Horse: The Wedge of Intelligent Design. 2004, page 111Quoting University of Chicago biologist Jerry Coyne: "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's 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." Jerry Coyne. Pratt Tribune. December 0200. Also available from the . Biology Professor Jerry Coyne wrote of Icons, "Jonathan Wells' 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." Jerry Coyne. Answers In Science, Tufts University.