The Great Devonian Controversy The Making of Scientific Knowledge among Gentlemanly Specialists

About this book

Acclaimed everywhere as a masterpiece in the history of science, The Great Devonian Controversy recreates a scientific debate of the 1830s and 1840s about the dating of certain puzzling rock strata and fossils.

Contents

List of Illustrations
Preface
List of Footnote Abbreviations
Dramatis Personae

Part I - Setting the Score
1. Scientific Research under a Historical Microscope
2. Arenas of Gentlemanly Debate
3. Unraveling the Earth

Part II - The Plot Unfolds
4. Prelude: Unraveling the Greywacke
5. The Controversy Goes Public
6. Taming the Transition
7. Devonshire Put to the Test
8. Interpretative Maneuvers
9. Shifting the Argument
10. Big Books in Collision
11. The Devonian System Reborn
12. Conquering the Continent
13. Creating a Consensus
14. The Devonian Naturalized

Part III - The Action Analyzed
15. The Shape of the Controversy
16. The Shaping of Natural Knowledge
Appendices
Bibliography
Index

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