Peter Dodson
Encyclopedia
Peter Dodson is an American paleontologist
who has published many papers and written and collaborated on books about dinosaur
s. An authority on Ceratopsia
ns, he has also authored several papers and textbooks on hadrosaurs and sauropods, and is a co-editor of The Dinosauria
, widely considered the definitive scholarly reference on dinosaurs. Dodson described Avaceratops
in 1986; Suuwassea
in 2004, and many others, while his students have named Paralititan
and Auroraceratops
. He has conducted field research in Canada, the United States, India, Madagascar, Egypt, Argentina, and China. A professor of vertebrate paleontology and of veterinary anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania, Dodson has also taught courses in geology, history, history and sociology of science
, and religious studies. Dodson is also a research associate at the Academy of Natural Sciences
. In 2001, two former students named an ancient frog species, Nezpercius dodsoni, after him (as well as after the Native American Nez Perce people). Dodson has also been skeptical to the theory of a dinosaurian origin of birds, but more recently has come down on the side of this theory.
," Dodson subscribes to theistic evolution
and has argued that there is no real conflict between religion and science
, writing that: "I have found little if anything to support or necessitate the warlike antagonism
between science and religion pictured by Dawkins
and like-minded scientists, who are animated by motives other than pure, disinterested science." Dodson has written numerous essays on the topic of religious belief and science, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the nonprofit Philadelphia-based Metanexus Institute on Science and Religion.
Paleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...
who has published many papers and written and collaborated on books about dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
s. An authority on Ceratopsia
Ceratopsia
Ceratopsia or Ceratopia is a group of herbivorous, beaked dinosaurs which thrived in what are now North America, Europe, and Asia, during the Cretaceous Period, although ancestral forms lived earlier, in the Jurassic. The earliest known ceratopsian, Yinlong downsi, lived between 161.2 and 155.7...
ns, he has also authored several papers and textbooks on hadrosaurs and sauropods, and is a co-editor of The Dinosauria
The Dinosauria (book)
The Dinosauria is an extensive book on dinosaurs, compiled by David B. Weishampel, Peter Dodson, and Halszka Osmólska. It has been published in 2 editions, with the first edition published in 1990, consisting of material from 23 scientists. The second, greatly revised edition, was published in...
, widely considered the definitive scholarly reference on dinosaurs. Dodson described Avaceratops
Avaceratops
Avaceratops is a genus of small ceratopsian dinosaur which lived during the late Campanian during the Late Cretaceous Period in what are now the Northwest United States.-Discoveries and species:...
in 1986; Suuwassea
Suuwassea
Suuwassea is a genus of diplodocoid sauropod dinosaur found in the Upper Jurassic strata of the Morrison Formation, located in southern Carbon County, Montana, USA. The fossil remains were recovered in a series of expeditions during a period spanning the years 1999 and 2000, described by J.D....
in 2004, and many others, while his students have named Paralititan
Paralititan
Paralititan was a giant titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur genus discovered in coastal deposits in the Upper Cretaceous Bahariya Formation of Egypt. The fossil represents the first tetrapod reported from the Bahariya Formation since 1935. Its 1.69 meter long humerus is longer than that of any...
and Auroraceratops
Auroraceratops
Auroraceratops, meaning "dawn horned face", is a genus of basal neoceratopsian dinosaur, from the Early Cretaceous of north central China...
. He has conducted field research in Canada, the United States, India, Madagascar, Egypt, Argentina, and China. A professor of vertebrate paleontology and of veterinary anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania, Dodson has also taught courses in geology, history, history and sociology of science
Sociology of scientific knowledge
The sociology of scientific knowledge ' is the study of science as a social activity, especially dealing "with the social conditions and effects of science, and with the social structures and processes of scientific activity."...
, and religious studies. Dodson is also a research associate at the Academy of Natural Sciences
Academy of Natural Sciences
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formerly Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the New World...
. In 2001, two former students named an ancient frog species, Nezpercius dodsoni, after him (as well as after the Native American Nez Perce people). Dodson has also been skeptical to the theory of a dinosaurian origin of birds, but more recently has come down on the side of this theory.
Religious views
Describing himself as a "deeply committed ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
," Dodson subscribes to theistic evolution
Theistic evolution
Theistic evolution or evolutionary creation is a concept that asserts that classical religious teachings about God are compatible with the modern scientific understanding about biological evolution...
and has argued that there is no real conflict between religion and science
Relationship between religion and science
The relationship between religion and science has been a focus of the demarcation problem. Somewhat related is the claim that science and religion may pursue knowledge using different methodologies. Whereas the scientific method basically relies on reason and empiricism, religion also seeks to...
, writing that: "I have found little if anything to support or necessitate the warlike antagonism
Conflict thesis
The conflict thesis proposes an intrinsic intellectual conflict between religion and science. The original historical usage of the term denoted that the historical record indicates religion’s perpetual opposition to science. Later uses of the term denote religion’s epistemological opposition to...
between science and religion pictured by Dawkins
Richard Dawkins
Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL , known as Richard Dawkins, is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author...
and like-minded scientists, who are animated by motives other than pure, disinterested science." Dodson has written numerous essays on the topic of religious belief and science, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the nonprofit Philadelphia-based Metanexus Institute on Science and Religion.
Books
- Dodson, P. (1996). The Horned Dinosaurs. Princeton University Press:Princeton, New Jersey, p. 244. ISBN 0-691-02882-6.
- Upchurch, P., Barrett, P.M. and Dodson, P. 2004. Sauropoda. In The Dinosauria, 2nd edition. D. Weishampel, P. Dodson, and H. Osmólska (eds.). University of California Press, Berkeley.