Francisco J. Ayala
From Philosopedia
Francisco J. Ayala (1934 - )
Ayala, a Spanish American biologist and philosopher, was born in Madrid, moved to the United States in 1961, earned his doctorate at Columbia University in 1964, and is a professor at the University of California, Irvine.
His academic appointments include being the Donald Bren Professor of Biological Sciences, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology (School of Biological Sciences), Professor of Philosophy, (School of Humanities), and Professor of Logic and the Philosophy of Science (School of Social Sciences).
Ayala in 2001 was awarded the National Medal of Science, one of many such honors.
He is a former Dominican priest and the author of 30 books, the most recent of which is Darwin's Gift to Science and Religion (2007). Cornelia Dean, a reporter for The New York Times, describes the book:
- In it, he writes that as a theology student in Spain he had been taught that evolution “provided the ‘missing link’ in the explanation of evil in the world” — a defense of God’s goodness and omnipotence, despite the existence of evil.
- “As floods and drought were a necessary consequence of the fabric of the physical world, predators and parasites, dysfunctions and diseases were a consequence of the evolution of life,” he writes. “They were not a result of a deficient or malevolent design.”
Belief in evolution, Ayala holds, does not rule out belief in God for evolution.
- is more consistent with belief in a personal god than intelligent design. If God has designed organisms, he has a lot to account for.”
- Consider, he said, that at least 20 percent of pregnancies are known to end in spontaneous abortion. If that results from divinely inspired anatomy, Dr. Ayala said, “God is the greatest abortionist of them all.”
Neither the existence nor nonexistence of God can be scientifically proved, he agrees, saying he is not a religion-basher but also not wishing to be labeled a non-believer or a believer:
- I don't want to be tagged. By one side or the other.
