--- title: "2 Conjecture Quotes By Jerry A. Coyne" description: "2 Conjecture quotes by Jerry A. Coyne. Plus more from Jerry A. Coyne and more Conjecture sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c5/jerry-a-coyne-13913_biology_in-science-s-pecking-order-evolutionary_326781.jpg" --- > [“In science's pecking order, evolutionary biology lurks somewhere near the bottom, far closer to phrenology than to physics. For evolutionary biology is a historical science, laden with history's inevitable imponderables. We evolutionary biologists cannot generate a Cretaceous Park to observe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/in-science-s-pecking-order-evolutionary-biology-lurks-somewhere-near/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c5/jerry-a-coyne-13913_biology_in-science-s-pecking-order-evolutionary_326781.jpg) > [ “\[...\] if truth be told, evolution hasn’t yielded many practical or commercial benefits. Yes, bacteria evolve drug resistance, and yes, we must take countermeasures, but beyond that there is not much to say. Evolution cannot help us predict what new… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/if-truth-be-told-evolution-hasn-t-yielded-many-practical-or/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82a/jerry-a-coyne-13913_biology_if-truth-be-told-evolution-hasn-t-yielde_1623500.jpg) ## More by Jerry A. Coyne > [In the end theologians are jealous of science, for they are aware that it has greater authority than do their own ways of finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/in-the-end-theologians-are-jealous-of-science-for-they-are-aware-that/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [Evolution tells us where we came from, not where we can go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/evolution-tells-us-where-we-came-from-not-where-we-can-go/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [“Many people require more than just evidence before they’ll accept evolution. To these folks, evolution raises such profound questions of purpose, morality, and meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/many-people-require-more-than-just-evidence-before-they-ll-accept/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [“since many traits can affect an individual's adaptation to it's environment (it's "fitness") natural selection can over eons sculpt an animal or plant into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/since-many-traits-can-affect-an-individual-s-adaptation-to-it-s/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [These mysteries about how we evolved should not distract us from the indisputable fact that we did evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/these-mysteries-about-how-we-evolved-should-not-distract-us-from-the/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [Some believers are fundamentalists about everything, but every believer is a fundamentalist about something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/some-believers-are-fundamentalists-about-everything-but-every/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [“In science's pecking order, evolutionary biology lurks somewhere near the bottom, far closer to phrenology than to physics. For evolutionary biology is a historical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/in-science-s-pecking-order-evolutionary-biology-lurks-somewhere-near/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [Theology is the post hoc rationalization of what you want to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/theology-is-the-post-hoc-rationalization-of-what-you-want-to-believe/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [“There is an increasing (and disturbing) tendency of psychologists, biologists, and philosophers to Darwinize every aspect of human behavior, turning its study into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/there-is-an-increasing-and-disturbing-tendency-of-psychologists/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [Can a geology teacher blithely tell his students that the earth is flat, or a European history professor that the Holocaust didn't happen? That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/can-a-geology-teacher-blithely-tell-his-students-that-the-earth-is/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [“Life on earth evolved gradually beginning with one primitive life form – perhaps a self-replicating molecule – that lived more than 3.5 billion years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/life-on-earth-evolved-gradually-beginning-with-one-primitive-life/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [Science has only two things to contribute to religion: an analysis of the evolutionary, cultural, and psychological basis for believing things that aren't true,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/science-has-only-two-things-to-contribute-to-religion-an-analysis-of/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [“IDers argue that such traits, involving many parts that must cooperate for that trait to function at all, defy Darwinian explanation. Therefore, by default,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/iders-argue-that-such-traits-involving-many-parts-that-must-cooperate/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [“Natural selection is not a master engineer, but a tinkerer. It doesn't produce the absolute perfection achievable by a designer starting from scratch, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/natural-selection-is-not-a-master-engineer-but-a-tinkerer-it-doesn-t/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [“Selection is both revolutionary and disturbing for the same reason: it explains apparent design in nature by a purely materialistic process that doesn't require…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/selection-is-both-revolutionary-and-disturbing-for-the-same-reason-it/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conjecture/jerry-a-coyne/#itemlist", "name": "2 Conjecture Quotes By Jerry A. 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