lew@ihuxr.UUCP (Lew Mammel, Jr.) (11/27/84)
I just finished reading THE MEANING OF FOSSILS by Martin J. S. Rudwick. It is part of the History of Science Library which includes THE EARTH IN DECAY by G. L. Davies, which I reported on some time ago. Actually, there is considerable overlap in the subject matter covered by these two books. THE MEANING OF FOSSILS is subtitled, "Episodes in the history of Palaeon- tology". It has five chapters, each centered around a particular controversy or issue, covering the various personalities and points of view involved. I especially liked this book because it did a good job showing how the conventional retrospective view which picks a hero who "got it right" does so at the expense of any real perspective on the actual thinking of the time. For example, Joseph Lister (as in "Listerine") was on the "wrong" side when he argued that giant ammonites were not of organic origin. However, his was a very cautionary and well reasoned view, not at all based on the kind of superstitious thinking we are likely to associate with concepts of a "vis plastica" when we hear about it nowadays. Also, it is shown how Cuvier's careful anatomical work laid the ground for scientific concepts of evolution, even though he was violently opposed to the unbridled speculation that marked pre-Darwinian evolutionary thinking. (... and Cuvier was not a "creationist" !) I think creationists sympathizers should be pleased with the last chapter, "Life's Ancestry", which gives a very critical view of Darwin's theory. Scientific opposition to it was soundly based, and unrelated to the ideological storm which surrounds it. In fact this chapter could be a rich source of anti-Darwin quotes for creationist tracts. Part of the subject overlap with TEID, which I mentioned above, is the coverage of Thomas Burnett's SACRED THEORY OF THE EARTH, published in the late 17th century. This work is especially interesting because it seems to be a source for much of today's creationist cosmogony. Lastly I should mention the very pleasing appearance of the printing in this book, including excellent reproductions of various engravings. I rate this as a "must read" for anyone with a serious personal interest in origins. Lew Mammel, Jr. ihnp4!ihuxr!lew