When geologists were historians, 1665-1750
By: Rhoda Rappaport.
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Published: 1997
Place of publication: Ithaca, N.Y
Language: eng
Number of pages: 308
Subjects: Geology -- Europe -- History -- 17th century; Geology -- Europe -- History -- 18th century; Communication in geology
Description: In the years between 1665 and 1750, geology was a new kind of science, combining physical law with historical process. Rhoda Rappaport explains its novelty and provides a transnational account of the development of geological thinking.

She begins with the establishment of formal institutions of international exchange, including the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London and the Journal des savants in Paris, and shows how new media fostered increasing communication among scientists, particularly in England, France, and Italy.

Buffon argued forcefully that geology should be wholly a physical science and that historical texts were irrelevant to the reconstruction of physical processes. Rappaport explains how his contemporaries responded to this novel proposal and how Buffon heralded the end of an era.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 265-301) and index.