Controversy in Victorian Geology: The Cambrian-Silurian Dispute - Couverture souple

Secord, James A.

 
9780691024417: Controversy in Victorian Geology: The Cambrian-Silurian Dispute
Couverture souple
ISBN 10 : 0691024413 ISBN 13 : 9780691024417
Editeur : Princeton University Press, 2006

Synopsis

This book aims at serious goals and achieves all of theirs. It pros ides x fundamentally new interpretation of the Cambrian-Silurian dispute based on exacting research and thoughtful interpretation. It also relates the dispute both to the general social background of British geology and to the distinctive personal experiences of Sedgswick and Murchison. Secord writes clear, rigorous prose and provides plenty of helpful illustrations. One cannot ask for more" - William Montgomery, Science "Secord gives a dazzlingly detailed account of this scientific trench warfare and its social consequences. One ends up with a marvellous feeling for the major taxonomic enterprises in Darwin's younger day: mapping, ordering, conquering 'taming the "chaos" of the strata. All of these of course had social and imperial ramifications; and Secord mentions geology's moral appeal (in supporting a divinely-stratified Creation) to a beleaguered elite intent on subduing the lower orders. We also get a wonderful insight into the bitty slay these taxonomic enterprises progressed. . . . What comes across is how? our supposedly 'inert' taxonomic constructs still reflect their contingent heritage" - Adrian Desmond, London Review of Books "James Secord provides a fascinating history of one of the most celebrated altercations in 19th-century science-the controversy over the proper boundary between the Cambrian and Silurian divisions in the oldest fossil-bearing rocks. By integrating the social and technical aspects of the conflict, the author opens up a range of new approaches to the history of natural science in the Victorian era. The result is a vivid story of the human effects of scientific partisanship and an important contribution to the study of the actual practice of science" - European Journal of Engineering Education" [Secord's] book must become essential reading for any serious student of the history of the earth-sciences but it also

Les informations fournies dans la section « Synopsis » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.

Présentation de l'éditeur

This book aims at serious goals and achieves all of theirs. It pros ides x fundamentally new interpretation of the Cambrian-Silurian dispute based on exacting research and thoughtful interpretation. It also relates the dispute both to the general social background of British geology and to the distinctive personal experiences of Sedgswick and Murchison. Secord writes clear, rigorous prose and provides plenty of helpful illustrations. One cannot ask for more" - William Montgomery, Science "Secord gives a dazzlingly detailed account of this scientific trench warfare and its social consequences. One ends up with a marvellous feeling for the major taxonomic enterprises in Darwin's younger day: mapping, ordering, conquering 'taming the "chaos" of the strata. All of these of course had social and imperial ramifications; and Secord mentions geology's moral appeal (in supporting a divinely-stratified Creation) to a beleaguered elite intent on subduing the lower orders. We also get a wonderful insight into the bitty slay these taxonomic enterprises progressed. . . . What comes across is how? our supposedly 'inert' taxonomic constructs still reflect their contingent heritage" - Adrian Desmond, London Review of Books "James Secord provides a fascinating history of one of the most celebrated altercations in 19th-century science-the controversy over the proper boundary between the Cambrian and Silurian divisions in the oldest fossil-bearing rocks. By integrating the social and technical aspects of the conflict, the author opens up a range of new approaches to the history of natural science in the Victorian era. The result is a vivid story of the human effects of scientific partisanship and an important contribution to the study of the actual practice of science" - European Journal of Engineering Education" [Secord's] book must become essential reading for any serious student of the history of the earth-sciences but it also

Biographie de l'auteur

James A. Secord is professor in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge and a fellow at Christ s College.

Les informations fournies dans la section « A propos du livre » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.

Éditeur
Princeton University Press
Date d'édition
2006
Langue
anglais
ISBN 10 
0691024413
ISBN 13 
9780691024417
Reliure
Broché
Nombre de pages
384
Coordonnées du fabricant
non disponible
Personne responsable
non disponible

Autres éditions populaires du même titre

9780691084176: Controversy in Victorian Geology: The Cambrian-Silurian Dispute

Edition présentée

ISBN 10 :  0691084173 ISBN 13 :  9780691084176
Editeur : Princeton University Press, 1986
Couverture rigide