Category Archives: Philosophy

A.R. Wallace on Geology, Great Glaciers and the Speed of Evolution

Posted on November 8, 2013 by

When Charles Darwin published “The Origin of Species” in November 1859 geologists were still discussing the age of the earth. Deep time was an essential prerequisite to explain the recent biodiversity by gradual and slow changes in the remote past.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Biology, Exploration, Geology, Science | Leave a comment

Newton’s Alchemy and early Geochemistry

Posted on March 17, 2013 by

Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) is today remembered for his contributions to optics, mechanics and gravity, but as a typical polymath of his time he was also interested in alchemy. And through his interest in this early predecessor of chemistry he … Continue reading →

Posted in Chemistry, Geology, Philosophy | Leave a comment

Pseudo-science, proto-science, pre-science or just plain science?

Posted on December 22, 2012 by

Having posted my recent article on the history of pseudo-science and science I went off to bed. Whilst I was wrapped in the arms of Morpheus an interesting little debate was taking place on my twitter stream. One of the participants thought … Continue reading →

Posted in Astrology, History, Philosophy | Leave a comment

Being wrong is not a crime; knowing what’s right and deliberately saying the wrong thing is!

Posted on March 2, 2012 by

Inspired or, perhaps better said, provoked by my last post mathematician and artist Edmund Harriss has written a thoughtful post on the virtues of being wrong at his blog Maxwell’s Demon. This reaction to my post has prompted me to try to explain … Continue reading →

Posted in Historiography, History, Philosophy, Science | Leave a comment

Frauds, Fakes and Fossils

Posted on February 7, 2012 by

Almost every student of earth sciences knows the hoax perpetuated on poor Dr. Johann Bartholomäus Adam Beringer (1667-1738), often told in textbooks as warning of blind faith and argument from authority in science. However careful study of the still existing “lying … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Biology, Geology, History, Philosophy, Religion, Science | Leave a comment

Lisa commits the ‘father of’ sin.

Posted on January 17, 2012 by

What is wrong with the expression ‘father of’? A mild rant!

Posted in Philosophy, Science | Leave a comment

Monday blast from the past #11 (on a Tuesday)

Posted on January 17, 2012 by

Who was John Ray?

Posted in Biology, Biology, History, Philosophy | Leave a comment

More Science than Fiction

Posted on December 17, 2011 by

Science-fiction stories and movies are not only entertainment for a rainy day but also mirrors of the scientific abilities, ambitions, even anxieties of a society. A short overview about tales and movies shows this evolution. The decade of 1950 to … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Environmental History, Geology, Humour?, Science, Teaching HPS | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Dude, your evolutionary theory just ate my philosophy – Leopold and the evolutionary possibility of a Land Ethic

Posted on October 30, 2011 by

Somebody somewhere at this moment is writing a reverential essay about Aldo Leopold’s Land Ethic.  I feel a little ungenerous, I admit, to write in less than enthusiastic tones.  It seems to me though that if the land ethic, Leopold’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Environmental History, Evolution, Philosophy | Leave a comment

The Ecology of Knowledge: Ecological Resilience and the Structure of Scientific Revolutions

Posted on October 2, 2011 by

As students of science we have all, no doubt, absorbed the lessons from the history of our disciplines that changes in thinking tend not to be meted out incrementally. The Darwinian and Wallacean account of evolutionary change through natural selection … Continue reading →

Posted in Environmental History, Philosophy, Science | Leave a comment