This innovative book uses the story of how a modern science achieved its present shape and focus to introduce the question of the nature of scientific change and its philosophical analysis. The "modern revolution in geology" of the 1960s and 1970s saw the triumph of the global theory of plate tectonics, and decisive turning point in fifty years' controversy and competition first sparked in 1912 by Wegener's proposal of continenta drift. Here, Professor Le Grand interweaves a history of this episode of scientific change with reflective discussions of its historical, philosophical, and social circumstances, and of the development of science more generally. The approach of the book is exploratory; the reader is encouraged to be an active participant--to use the historical narrative to understand and criticize some of the more recent, influential ideas about science and scientists, to draw conclusions, and especially to pose questions about how and why changes occur in scientific knowledge and practice.
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Editorial Reviews
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"...will be of great interest both to specialists and to generalists in the several disciplines it embraces. Its genuinely new feature is the integration of geological history with discussions of the scientific enterprise. This provides us a richly detailed and cogently argued text that is guaranteed to generate lively discussion among graduate or undergraduate students in small seminars or large classrooms. The writing is clear but nontechnical and, therefore, readily accessible to lay readers. Le Grand's melding of disciplines is very welcome in a day when too many of us hew too closely to our own narrow research interests." American Scientist
Book Description
A historical account of the triumph of the global theory of plate tectonics and its implications for the "modern revolution in geology" of the 1960s and 1970s after fifty years of controversy and competition.
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First Sentence:
Alfred L. Wegener proposed in 1912 that all the continents once been united, had broken apart, and had drifted through the ocean floor to their current locations. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
geological specialties, plate tectonics version, southern glaciation, continental spreading, palaeomagnetic results, continent geology, palaeomagnetic studies, astatic magnetometer, contracting earth, polar wandering, geodetic evidence, continent geologists, rock magnetism, isthmian links, new global tectonics, expanding earth, magnetic anomaly patterns, opposing coasts, naive inductivism, rival programs, global geology, geological community, palaeomagnetic data, marine geologists, seafloor spreading Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
North America, South America, Tuzo Wilson, World War, South Africa, Geological Society of America, Geological Survey, Juan de Fuca Ridge, East Pacific Rise, Bullard Fit, Professor of Geology, Royal Society, Maurice Ewing, Mid Atlantic Ridge, San Andreas Fault, American Geophysical Union, Geological Society of London, Central European, Columbia University, North Pole, Red Sea, South Pole, United States, Woods Hole, Arthur Holmes New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Alfred L. Wegener proposed in 1912 that all the continents once been united, had broken apart, and had drifted through the ocean floor to their current locations. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
geological specialties, plate tectonics version, southern glaciation, continental spreading, palaeomagnetic results, continent geology, palaeomagnetic studies, astatic magnetometer, contracting earth, polar wandering, geodetic evidence, continent geologists, rock magnetism, isthmian links, new global tectonics, expanding earth, magnetic anomaly patterns, opposing coasts, naive inductivism, rival programs, global geology, geological community, palaeomagnetic data, marine geologists, seafloor spreading Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
North America, South America, Tuzo Wilson, World War, South Africa, Geological Society of America, Geological Survey, Juan de Fuca Ridge, East Pacific Rise, Bullard Fit, Professor of Geology, Royal Society, Maurice Ewing, Mid Atlantic Ridge, San Andreas Fault, American Geophysical Union, Geological Society of London, Central European, Columbia University, North Pole, Red Sea, South Pole, United States, Woods Hole, Arthur Holmes New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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This book cites 85
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18
books
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- Atmosphere, Ocean and Climate Dynamics, Volume 3: An Introductory Text (International Geophysics) by John Marshall on 7 pages
- Principles of Geology (Penguin Classics) by Charles Lyell on 6 pages
- The Red Sea by Peter Vine on page 217, page 226, and page 227
- Earth Science by National Geographic Society in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Principles of Physical Geology by Arthur Holmes on page 115, and Back Matter
See all 85 books this book cites
- Plate Tectonics: An Insider's History Of The Modern Theory Of The Earth by Naomi Oreskes on 6 pages
- Plate Tectonics: An Insider's History Of The Modern Theory Of The Earth by Naomi Oreskes in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- At The Fringes Of Science by Michael W Friedlander on page 34, and Back Matter
- Where the Truth Lies: Franz Moewus and the Origins of Molecular Biology by Jan Sapp in Back Matter
- Deep Earthquakes by Cliff Frohlich on page 361
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