Book ID: CBB001251225

Studies on Eighteenth-Century Geology (2011)

unapi

Rappaport, Rhoda (Author)
Taylor, Kenneth L. (Editor)
Rudwick, Martin J.S. (Editor)


Ashgate, Variorum


Publication Date: 2011
Physical Details: 366 pp.; ill.; bibl.; index; maps
Language: English

In a scholarly career spanning five decades, Rhoda Rappaport published perceptive analyses of science in the culture of early Modern Europe, France in particular, with strong emphasis on geology's early development. Of the sixteen papers in this volume, most focus on aspects of geology's cultivation during the 'long' 18th century, from the times of Hooke, Leibniz, and Fontenelle to those of Lavoisier, Werner, and Cuvier. Among the topics most closely treated here are the French mineralogical mapping project initiated by Guettard; contemporary efforts to interpret the earth historically (such as through Noah's Flood); and difficulties presented by the vocabulary often used in traditional histories of geology. Much of Rappaport's research addressed two problems prevalent within 18th-century earth science: the proper understanding of petrifactions, or fossil objects; and struggles to establish reliable knowledge of the earth's past. She also examined the chemistry of G.-F. Rouelle, which she saw as effectively an attempt at systematic comprehension of the entire mineral realm; trans-national features of scientific pursuits as illustrated in the careers of the naturalist Vallisneri and the mineralogist (and philosophe) d'Holbach; and aspects of science's promotion in France through government patronage and academic privilege.

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Description Includes 16 papers dealing with the search to understand fossils and establish reliable knowledge of the earth's past during the long 18th century.


Reviewed By

Review Bork, Kennard (2012) Review of "Studies on Eighteenth-Century Geology". Earth Sciences History: Journal of the History of the Earth Sciences Society (pp. 151-153). unapi

Essay Review Oldroyd, David (2012) Early Geology in Focus. Metascience: An International Review Journal for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science (pp. 569-573). unapi

Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001251225/

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Authors & Contributors
Lehman, Christine
Beretta, Marco
Stéphane Pelucchi
Gregory F.W. Todd
Sturdy, David J.
Soukup, R. Werner
Concepts
Chemistry
Geology
Patronage
Mineralogy
Science education and teaching
Science
Time Periods
18th century
17th century
Early modern
20th century
19th century
Medieval
Places
France
England
Scotland
Italy
United States
Spain
Institutions
Prussian Academy of Sciences
Académie Royale des Sciences (France)
Accademia del Cimento, Florence
Académie des Sciences, Paris
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