From Mineralogy to Geology

"A fine treatment of this critical time in geology's history. Although it goes against our standard histories of the field, Laudan defends her views convincingly. Her style is direct, with carefully reasoned personal opinions and interpretations clearly defined."--Jere H. Lipps, The Scientist

Elizabeth A. Kaye specializes in communications as part of her coaching and consulting practice. She has edited Requirements for Certification since the 2000-01 edition.

List of Figures

ix

List of Tables

x

Acknowledgments

xi

The Conceptual Foundations of Geology

1

(19)

The aims of geology: Causal and historical

1

(6)

The methods of geology

7

(9)

The theories of geology

16

(1)

The aims of history of science

17

(3)

Mineralogy and Cosmogony in the Late Seventeenth Century

20

(27)

Mineralogical ``common sense'' in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries

21

(7)

Minerals and basic ontologies

28

(8)

Chemical theories of mineralogy

28

(4)

Mechanical theories of mineralogy

32

(4)

Histories of the earth

36

(11)

The evidence

36

(5)

Physical cosmogonies

41

(3)

Chemical cosmogonies

44

(3)

The Becher-Stahl School of Mineralogy and Cosmogony, 1700--1780

47

(23)

The institutional support for chemical mineralogy

47

(9)

Advances in mineralogy

56

(10)

The rocks

56

(2)

The ocean

58

(1)

The differentiation of the earths

59

(4)

The causes of consolidation

63

(3)

Eighteenth-century chemical cosmogonies

66

(2)

Eighteenth-century physical cosmogonies

68

(2)

The Botanical Model Rejected

70

(17)

The botanical model

71

(2)

The botanical model applied

73

(3)

The botanical model extended

76

(2)

The botanical model rejected

78

(3)

Identification versus classification

81

(2)

The taxonomy of rocks and fossils

83

(2)

Classification and the stages of scientific development

85

(2)

Werner and the ``School of Freiberg''

87

(26)

Werner's account of earth history

88

(6)

Formations: Time is of the essence

94

(8)

The Wernerian radiation

102

(11)

The Huttonian Alternative

113

(25)

The Huttonian theory of the earth

114

(7)

The immediate reaction

121

(2)

The background to Hutton's theory

123

(8)

Later modifications of Hutton's theory of consolidation

131

(4)

Hutton's impact on geology

135

(3)

Historical Geology

138

(42)

Formations: The key concept of historical geology

138

(3)

The correlation of formations

141

(29)

Reconstructing the earth's history

170

(8)

The Wernerian radiation: A pre-Lyellian synthesis

178

(2)

Wernerian Causal Geology

180

(21)

Wernerian theories of elevation

181

(16)

Elie de Beaumont's synthesis

197

(4)

Lyell's Geological Logic

201

(21)

Lyell and Hutton

202

(2)

The vera causa principle and uniformitarian geology

204

(5)

Lyell's theory of the earth

209

(1)

Lyell's vera causa theory of climatic change

210

(6)

Lyell's theory of elevation

216

(4)

Lyell's impact

220

(2)

Postscript

222

(7)

Notes

229

(7)

Bibliography

236

(33)

Index

269

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From Mineralogy to Geology

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials