Dawkins Vs. Gould: Survival Of The Fittest

Whose side are you on?

Science has seen its fair share of punch-ups over the years, but one debate, in the field of biology, has become notorious for its intensity. Over the last twenty years, Richard Dawkins ('The Selfish Gene', 'The Blind Watchmaker') and Stephen Jay Gould ('Wonderful Life', 'Rocks Of Ages') have engaged in a savage battle over evolution that shows no sign of waning.

Kim Sterelny moves beyond caricature to expose the real differences between the conceptions of evolution of these two leading scientists. He shows that the conflict extends beyond evolution to their very beliefs in science itself; and, in Gould's case, to domains in which science plays no role at all.

This book is an accessible and thought-provoking introduction to evolutionary theory and contemporary biology. It is one of the first books to deal with the bitterest controversy in science since the discovery of the structure of DNA. This is essential reading for anybody interested in the work of Richard Dawkins, Stephen Jay Gould, Steven Pinker, Matt Ridley and Daniel Dennett.