On a new episode of ID the Future, I continue a series of interviews celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Jonathan Wells, our close colleague and friend who passed away in 2024 at the age of 82 years old. Dr. Wells was one of the first Fellows of Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture and made significant contributions to science and to arguments for intelligent design. Today, evolutionary biologist Dr. Richard Sternberg shares personal anecdotes and insights into Dr. Wells’s character, his contributions to biology and epigenetics, and the profound impact he had on those around him.
One of the character traits Sternberg most admired in Wells was his humility, which formed a backdrop for their many conversations. Wells would occasionally bring up lessons he had learned about hubris from Faust, the famous tragic play by German polymath Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. “The more you know, the more you realize that you know too little and there’s always some other horizon,” says Sternberg, encapsulating his friend’s view. Wells’s commitment to intellectual honesty served him well in his career as a biologist and in the debate over evolution.
Dr. Sternberg also highlights Dr. Wells’s deep concern for the truth. “He saw how ideology could be used to not only bend the truth, but also to just subvert it,” explains Sternberg. Wells committed himself early in his career to following the evidence wherever it led, a decision that led to a brave and relentless search for scientific truth. And the perfect compliment to that bravery and humility? Wells’s sense of humor. Sternberg gives examples. The episode concludes with reflections on Dr. Wells’s lasting influence on the future of intelligent design. Download the podcast or listen to it here.
Dig Deeper
- Dr. Sternberg was profoundly influenced by Jonathan Wells. Read Sternberg’s essay on his journey from intellectually fulfilled atheism to intelligent design.
- Learn about Dr. Wells’s books, articles, videos, and an online course at JonathanWells.org.