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Duane Tolbert Gish (February 17, 1921 – March 5, 2013) was an American biochemist and a prominent member of the creationism. A young Earth creationist, Gish was a former vice-president of the Institute for Creation Research (ICR) and the author of numerous publications about creation science.
Gish was called "creationism's T. H. Huxley" for the way he "relished the confrontations" of formal debates with prominent evolutionary biologists, usually held on university campuses, while abandoning formal debating principles, in a style that came to be known as the Gish gallop. A creationist publication noted in his obituary that "it was perhaps his personal presentation that carried the day. In short, the audiences liked him."
Gish graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, with a Bachelor of Science in 1949. He then earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1953. His doctoral dissertation was titled, "I. The application of p-nitrobenzyl chloroformate to peptide synthesis. II. Para-nitrobenzyloxycarbonyl derivatives of amino acids. III. A method of synthesis of arginyl peptides".
In 1971, Gish became a member of the faculty at San Diego Christian College, working in its research division before accepting a position at the Institute for Creation Research (independent since 1981). He was the author of several books and articles espousing creationism. His best-known work, Evolution: The Fossils Say No!, published in 1972, has been widely accepted by creationists as an authoritative reference. Gish initially "assigned low priority to the question of the age of"..
At his death on March 5, 2013, Gish held the position of Senior Vice-President Emeritus at the ICR.
However, Gish said a similar thing about his debate opponents, especially Kenneth Miller. Gish accused Miller of using spread debating, i.e. speaking very fast and bringing up so many points that there was no chance to answer them all.Gish, D.T., Creation Scientists Answer Their Critics, IRC, 1993
Gish was also criticized for using a standardized presentation during debates. While undertaking research for a debate with Gish, Michael Shermer noted that Gish re-used similar openings, assumptions about his opponent, slides, and even jokes. For example, during the debate, Gish attempted to prove that Shermer was indeed an atheist and therefore immoral, even though Shermer said he was not an atheist and was willing to accept the existence of a divine creator. Massimo Pigliucci, who debated Gish five times, said that Gish ignored evidence contrary to his religious beliefs. Robert Schadewald accused Gish of stonewalling arguments with fabricated data.
Debates
Gish's debating opponents said that he used a rapid-fire approach during a debate, presenting arguments and changing topics quickly. Eugenie Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education, dubbed this approach the "Gish gallop", describing it as "where the creationist is allowed to run on for 45 minutes or an hour, spewing forth torrents of error that the evolutionist hasn't a prayer of refuting in the format of a debate". She also criticized Gish for failing to answer objections raised by his opponents.
Works
Gish, Duane T. (1986). 9780890510575, Institute for Creation Research Publishing. . ISBN 9780890510575
(1974). 9780890510209, ICR Pub. Co. ISBN 9780890510209
(1978). 9780890510483, Creation-Life Publishers. ISBN 9780890510483
Gish, Duane T. (1988). 094038406X, Creation Research Society. 094038406X
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Categories: 1921 Births, 2013 Deaths, 20th-century American Biochemists, 20th-century American Writers, 20th-century Baptists, 21st-century Baptists, 20th-century Methodists, Methodists From Kansas, United States Army Personnel Of World War Ii, Scientists From Kansas, Christian Fundamentalists, American Christian Young Earth Creationists, Weill Medical College Of Cornell University Faculty, People From Morris County, Kansas, American Twins, University Of California, Berkeley Alumni, University Of California, Los Angeles Alumni, Creation Scientists, Former Methodists, Baptists From Kansas, United States Army Officers
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