On Wednesday, February 5th, ISCID was pleased to host a live chat with Paul Nelson titled Ontogenetic Depth as a Complexity Metric for the Cambrian Explosion. View the transcript.

Paul Nelson is a philosopher of biology, specializing in evo-devo and developmental biology. He is also a fellow of the International Society for Complexity, Information and Design. Dr. Nelson received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago Department of Philosophy. His thesis critiques aspects of macroevolutionary theory in light of recent developments in embryology and developmental biology. Entitled On Common Descent, it will be published as volume sixteen in the University of Chicago Department of Ecology and Evolution's "Evolutionary Monographs" series (and the first in this prestigious series to critique neo-Darwinism).

Paul Nelson has written several articles on the philosophical aspects of evolutionary biology including one recently published in Biology and Philosophy. He edits the journal Origins & Design.

Paul Nelson

Paul Nelson's research interests include the relationships between developmental biology and our knowledge of the history of life, the theory of intelligent design, and the bearing of theology on science (and vice versa). He is married to Suzanne Nelson, M.D., M.P.H., an assistant professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University, and has two daughters, Hannah (age 10), and Olivia (age 8). Paul enjoys reading, listening to classical and rock music, going to movies, coaching his daughter Hannah’s ice hockey team, and walking his dog Beau, a golden retriever.