Georges Cuvier, Fossil Bones, & Geological Catastrophes – New Translations & Interpretations of the Primary Texts (Paper): New Translations and Interpretations of the Primary Texts - Softcover

Rudwick, Martin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0226731073 ISBN 13: 9780226731070

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 1998

Synopsis

Until quite recently, French zoologist Georges Cuvier (1769-1832) opposed the biological theory of evolution, and championed the geological theory of catastrophism; but his research on fossils helped form and bring credibility to geology and palaeontology, and recent research has proved that his ideas on the importance of mass extinctions and catastrophes were well ahead of their time. In this volume, Martin Rudwick provides a modern translation of Cuvier's essential writings on fossils and catastrophes, together with two previously unpublished pieces. Rudwick links these translated texts together with his own narrative and interpretive commentary, placing Cuvier's work in its biographical, scientific, and social context. A major feature of this book is a translation of Cuvier's best-known work, the "Preliminary Discourse" (1812). Frequently reprinted and translated, this essay became a key document in 19th-century debates about evolutionary theory, and can still be used as source material by many English-speaking historians.

About this title

Product Description:

Georges Cuvier, Fossil Bones, and Geological Catastrophes Georges Cuvier's research on fossil bones helped in the formation of geology and palaeontology. In this translation, his writings on fossils and catastrophes are accompanied by a narrative and interpretive commentary, placing Cuvier's work in its biographical, scientific and social context. Full description

About the Author:

Martin J. S. Rudwick is professor emeritus of history at the University of California, San Diego and affiliated scholar in the Department of the History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0226731073
• ISBN 13: 9780226731070
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 314