Monthly Archives: December 2010

Philosophising scientists or scientific philosophers in the 17th century

Posted on December 31, 2010 by

Mark Perakh made a very silly comment at  Panda’s Thumb about the philosophy of science, on which I briefly comment.

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The greatest show on Earth

Posted on December 30, 2010 by

In antiquity malformations on both men and animals were regarded as warnings from the gods, this old belief still today survives in the word “monster”, from the Latin verb “monere” – meaning “to warn”. Collected first in Cabinets of Curiosities, … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Biology, Geology | Leave a comment

Attacks on philosophy by scientists

Posted on December 30, 2010 by

Reposted from my home blog. Something that I never really fully understand is why academics feel the need to denigrate other academic disciplines. Just because one happens to think something is so worthwhile that they devoted their lives to it … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy | Tagged | 56 Comments

Three for the price of one

Posted on December 28, 2010 by

A Christmas Trinity I A Christmas Trinity II A Christmas Trinity III A ragbag of trivia

Posted in History, Metaphysics, Religion | Leave a comment

Somewhere in space …

Posted on December 27, 2010 by

Just a brief notice that, over at Vintage Space, our blogmate Amy Teitel has some recent posts up on the X-15 craft and the Apollo 8 mission.  

Posted in Space Exploration | Leave a comment

The “missing” Darwin-Mivart letters

Posted on December 27, 2010 by

I’ve been examining the life and work of St George Jackson Mivart for some time now, so the following caught my eye. Creationist journalist, Denyse O’Leary is making much of a claim that the correspondence between Mivart and Darwin has … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, History | 8 Comments

Whewell on Epochs of Induction

Posted on December 23, 2010 by

When William Whewell set out to write his history of the inductive sciences, he was writing at a time at which it was not uncommon to see history in terms of the actions of ‘Great Men’. The temptation to do … Continue reading →

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The discovery of the ruins of ice

Posted on December 21, 2010 by

“It has already been said, that no small part of the present work refers to the nature and phenomena of glaciers. It may be well, therefore, before proceeding to details, to explain a little the state of our present knowledge … Continue reading →

Posted in Geology | Leave a comment

Should Governments Fund Big Science?

Posted on December 20, 2010 by

Over at The Bubble Chamber, Boaz Miller asks: What stand should humanities and social science people, in particular HPS and STS people, take on this issue? Should they ally themselves with their fellow researchers and support their quest for knowledge … Continue reading →

Posted in General Science | 1 Comment

Giants’ Shoulders #30: A (Scientific) Christmas Carol

Posted on December 16, 2010 by

This December edition of Giants’ Shoulders is a 19th-century special, bringing together the Ghost of William Whewell with the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. If you will draw your chairs closer to the fire and refill your glasses … Continue reading →

Posted in Giants' Shoulders, History | Tagged , | 7 Comments