1. How the mobilism debate was structured; 2. Wegener and Taylor develop their theories of continental drift; 3. Sub-controversies in the drift debate, 1920s–50s; 4. The mechanism sub-controversy: 1921–51; 5. Arthur Holmes and his theory of substratum convection, 1915–55; 6. Regionalism and the reception of mobilism: South Africa, India and South America from the 1920s through the early 1950s; 7. Regional reception of mobilism in North America: 1920s through the 1950s; 8. Reception and development of mobilism in Europe: 1920s through the 1950s; 9. Fixism's popularity in Australia: 1920s to middle 1960s; Index.
The definitive account of the early debate over Wegener's theory of continental drift, based on extensive interviews and archival material.
Henry R. Frankel was awarded a Ph.D. from Ohio State University in 1974 and then took a position at the University of Missouri, Kansas City where he became Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Philosophy Department (1999–2004). His interest in the continental drift controversy and the plate tectonics revolution began while teaching a course on conceptual issues in science during the late 1970s. The controversy provided him with an example of a recent and major scientific revolution to test philosophical accounts of scientific growth and change. Over the next thirty years, and with the support of the United States National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Philosophical Society, Professor Frankel's research went on to yield new and fascinating insights into the evolution of the most important theory in the Earth sciences.
'A well constructed and gripping narrative, which preserves the
complex scientific detail, but invites one into this fascinating
world and helps the reader patiently to find a way through its
labyrinth. Frankel is a wonderful guide and worthy of your trust.'
Mott Greene, University of Puget Sound, Washington and University
of Washington
'What is so impressive about this monumental work is its
completeness. Frankel has gone back to the original sources and
papers, to ensure complete understanding of the scientific issues
involved. I recommend these volumes to anyone interested in the
subject.' Dan McKenzie, University of Cambridge
'This is the definitive history of the way science really worked
during the prolonged great geoscience debate of the twentieth
century … Superb either for sampling, eased by excellent
organization, or for a long, rewarding read.' Warren Hamilton,
Colorado School of Mines
Praise for the 4-volume collection: '… an unparalleled study of
remarkable depth, detail and quality of a key development in our
ideas about how the Earth functions … because Frankel draws on his
extensive oral historical work with the key players in the
development of plate tectonics, this is a study which can never be
repeated in terms of its proximity to the events narrated, so many
of those key players now being deceased.' Progress in Physical
Geography
 |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
