| Description |
1 online resource (xiv, 245 pages) : illustrations |
| Contents |
Introduction : an age of transition -- Swimming at the edges of scientific respectability : sea serpents, Charles Lyell, and the professionalization of geology -- Franz Gall, Johann Spurzheim, George Combe and phrenology : a science for everyone -- The crisis in faith : William Crookes and spiritualism -- Morals and materialism : Alfred Russel Wallace, spiritualism, and the problem of evolution -- Thatige skepsis : Thomas Huxley and evolutionary theory -- Negotiating the boundaries of science : an ongoing process |
| Summary |
"Science permeates nearly every aspect of our lives, and yet, as current debates over intelligent design, the causes of global warming, and alternative health practices indicate, the question of how to distinguish science from pseudoscience remains a difficult one. To address this question, Sherrie Lynne Lyons draws on four examples from the nineteenth century - sea serpent investigations, spiritualism, phrenology, and Darwin's theory of evolution. Each attracted the interest of prominent scientists as well as the general public, yet three remained at the edges of scientific respectability while the fourth, evolutionary theory, although initially regarded as scientific heresy, ultimately became the new scientific orthodoxy." "Taking a serious look at the science behind these examples, Lyons argues that distinguishing between science and pseudoscience, particularly in the midst of discovery, is not as easy as the popular image of science tends to suggest."--Jacket |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 223-234) and index |
| Notes |
English |
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Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002. http://purl.oclc.org/DLF/benchrepro0212 MiAaHDL |
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digitized 2023. HathiTrust Digital Library committed to preserve pda MiAaHDL |
| Subject |
Science -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th century
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Science
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History, 19th Century
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Intellectual life.
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Science.
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sciences (philosophy)
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Wissenschaft
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Pseudowissenschaft
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Naturwissenschaften
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Wissenschaftlichkeit
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Wissenschaftsentwicklung
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| SUBJECT |
Great Britain -- Intellectual life -- 19th century.
http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85056856
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United Kingdom |
| Subject |
Great Britain.
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Großbritannien
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| Genre/Form |
History.
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| Form |
Electronic book
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| LC no. |
2008054150 |
| ISBN |
9781438428024 |
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1438428022 |
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9781438428024 |
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1441629726 |
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9781441629722 |
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