As an evolutionary biology PhD student in the year 2026, I’m just chiming in to say that students in the field are still being introduced to the ideas of Gould, specifically punctuated equilibrium and Spandrels. I don’t think it’s fair to call his reputation “mud”. Gould has also been introduced as a relevant player in 2 ongoing debates: (1) adaptation vs. neutral theory and (2) whether evolution is progressive or not. So the debate isn’t settled in 2026 and I don’t think it’s accurate to describe the debate as settled in 1996 when Gould wrote this book you are discussing, either. I’m currently reading 1994 book, Evolution Extended (Connie Barlow) which collects essays on major debates in evolutionary biology and philosophy of biology. The first chapter is on progress in evolution, which features “then modern” pro-progress takes from E.O. Wilson and Francisco Ayala. So this was considered a modern debate in the 1990s. I actually found this blog post because I was surprised that Gould wasn’t included in these essays, given how much he spoke against progresss. Anyway, hello from the future!
As an evolutionary biology PhD student in the year 2026, I’m just chiming in to say that students in the field are still being introduced to the ideas of Gould, specifically punctuated equilibrium and Spandrels. I don’t think it’s fair to call his reputation “mud”. Gould has also been introduced as a relevant player in 2 ongoing debates: (1) adaptation vs. neutral theory and (2) whether evolution is progressive or not. So the debate isn’t settled in 2026 and I don’t think it’s accurate to describe the debate as settled in 1996 when Gould wrote this book you are discussing, either. I’m currently reading 1994 book, Evolution Extended (Connie Barlow) which collects essays on major debates in evolutionary biology and philosophy of biology. The first chapter is on progress in evolution, which features “then modern” pro-progress takes from E.O. Wilson and Francisco Ayala. So this was considered a modern debate in the 1990s. I actually found this blog post because I was surprised that Gould wasn’t included in these essays, given how much he spoke against progresss. Anyway, hello from the future!