We completely agree with atheists, such as Gould, on a great many things. Especially including repudiation of any idea the evolution is guided by any kind of sentient God, or anything even remotely close to that.
However, we also believe that there is a powerful, god in embryo, if you will, in mother nature in general, and in any evolutionary process in particular. Everything tends to progress towards that which is better, including everything from Survivability to intelligence to diversity.
Richard Dawkins is an atheist and clear supporter of this camp [1].