A Celebrated Life: Colleagues Remember Dr. Jonathan Wells
On this ID The Future, we bring you some remarks given at a recent gathering to celebrate the life of biologist Dr. Jonathan Wells, who passed away in September 2024 at the age of 82. Dr. Wells was one of the first fellows of the Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture. In 2000, Wells took the science world by storm with Icons of Evolution, a book showing how biology textbooks routinely promote Darwinism using bogus evidence — icons of evolution like Ernst Haeckel’s faked embryo drawings and peppered moths glued to tree trunks. Dr. Wells’s achievements in the field of biology are notable. In this episode you’ll get a glimpse into Dr. Wells’s life and character as well as his relentless search for scientific truth.
First to speak is Dr. John West, Associate Director of the Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture. Dr. West explains how Wells managed to be both brilliant AND understandable – no easy task! Following that you’ll hear from philosopher of biology Dr. Paul Nelson, who reminds us of the importance of wisdom and how Dr. Wells espoused it: “Second only to God himself is wisdom,” notes Nelson. “She is the queen of the physical world, and therefore the queen of science itself.” After that, Dr. Richard Sternberg takes the stage to share details of how his friendship with Wells impacted him personally and professionally. And then Dr. Casey Luskin wraps up these eulogies by giving the perspective of a student: one student among the many, “both current and former, who have learned the truth about evolution because of Jonathan’s work.” As he concludes, Dr. Luskin reminds all of us that it is our task to continue Jonathan’s quest to use grace, humor, and evidence-backed science to speak the truth into people’s lives.
Dig Deeper
- Learn more about Dr. Wells’s life and work at his website, jonathanwells.org.
- Watch the trailer for Dr. Wells’s online video course: