Paul Nelson

Senior Fellow, Center for Science and Culture

Paul A. Nelson is currently a Senior Fellow of Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture and Adjunct Professor in the Master of Arts Program in Science & Religion at Biola University. He is a philosopher of biology who has been involved in the intelligent design debate internationally for three decades. His grandfather, Byron C. Nelson (1893-1972), a theologian and author, was an influential mid-20th century dissenter from Darwinian evolution. After Paul received his BA in philosophy with a minor in evolutionary biology from the University of Pittsburgh, he entered the University of Chicago, where he received his PhD (1998) in the philosophy of biology and evolutionary theory.

As an early associate of Professor Phillip Johnson of UC-Berkeley, author of the bestselling critique Darwin on Trial, Paul was an organizer of the Mere Creation conference (1996), where the modern intelligent design research community first formed. His research interests include the relationship between developmental biology and our knowledge of the history of life, the theory of intelligent design, and the interaction of science and theology. Paul lectures frequently at colleges and universities throughout the United States and Europe, has spoken on American and Italian national public radio, and written for popular publications as varied as the Oslo Dagbladet and the Christian Research Journal.

Nelson’s scholarly articles have appeared in journals such as Biology & Philosophy, BIO-Complexity, Zygon, Rhetoric and Public Affairs, and Touchstone, and book chapters in the anthologies Mere Creation (Intervarsity Press), Signs of Intelligence (Brazos), Intelligent Design Creationism and Its Critics (MIT Press), and Darwin, Design, Public Education (Michigan State University Press), and Next Generation Systematics (Cambridge University Press). Paul is one of the authors of the biology textbook Explore Evolution, and has appeared in several films on intelligent design for Illustra Media. He is a member of the Society for Developmental Biology (SDB) and the International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology (ISHPSSB).

Paul is married to Suzanne Nelson, M.D., M.P.H., a pediatric gastroenterologist, and they have two daughters currently attending graduate school. The family resides in Glenview, Illinois.

Archives

Gutsy and Loyal: The Qualities of My Friend Jonathan Wells

Paul Nelson
March 5, 2025
On this episode of ID The Future, philosopher of biology Paul Nelson continues to share his remembrances of our longtime colleague Dr. Jonathan Wells, who passed away in 2024 at 82 years old. Dr. Wells was one of the first fellows at Discovery Institute’s Center for Science & Culture, and his contributions to the intelligent design movement over the last quarter century have been monumental. In Part 2 of the conversation, Dr. Nelson shares another adventure he had with Jonathan, this time at the University of Chicago in the early 2000s. He also discusses the qualities that made Wells such a remarkable man, including his bravery and loyalty. This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation.

Paul Nelson: My Adventures with Jonathan Wells

Paul Nelson
March 3, 2025
On this episode of ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes philosopher of biology Paul Nelson to share some of his remembrances of our longtime colleague Dr. Jonathan Wells, who passed away in 2024 at 82 years old. Dr. Wells was one of the first fellows at Discovery Institute’s Center for Science & Culture, and his contributions to the intelligent design movement over the last quarter century have been monumental. In the first half of the conversation, Dr. Nelson takes listeners back to a famous meeting in the history of the modern intelligent design movement. He also shares some humorous stories of his adventures with Jonathan Wells at events in the United States and China. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation.

Is Epicurus Smiling?

Paul Nelson
January 14, 2024
Eugene Koonin pointed out that any abiogenesis scenario requires a cosmological background theory against which any local event probabilities must be evaluated.