Species, Serpents, Spirits, and Skulls

Sherrie Lynne Lyons

Description

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. Two examples of present-day controversies surrounding evolutionary psychology and the meaning of fossils confirm this assertion. She concludes that although the boundaries of what constitutes science are not always clear-cut, the very intimate relationship between science and society, rather than being a hindrance, contributes to the richness and diversity of scientific ideas. Taken together, these entertaining and accessible examples illuminate important issues concerning the theory, practice, and content of science.
List of Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgments

1.Introduction: An Age of Transition

2.Swimming at the Edges of Scientific Respectability: Sea Serpents, Charles Lyell, and the Professionalization of Geology

3.Franz Gall, Johann Spurzheim, George Combe, and Phrenology: A Science for Everyone

4.The Crisis in Faith: William Crookes and Spiritualism

5.Morals and Materialism: Alfred Russel Wallace, Spiritualism, and the Problem of Evolution

6.Thatige Skepsis: Thomas Huxley and Evolutionary Theory

7.Negotiating the Boundaries of Science: An Ongoing Process

Notes
Bibliography
Index

Sujets

• Reino Unido
• 19th century
• United Kingdom
• Mathematics
• History of science
• History of Europe
• Great Britain
• Science
• Royaume-Uni

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 02 juillet 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781438428024
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Species, Serpents, Spirits, and Skulls

S H EAT T C I E NC E M A RGI NS I N T H E V IC TOR I A N A GE h Sherrie Lynne Lyons

This page intentionally left blank.

S PECIES, S ERPENTS, S PIRITS, AND S KULL S

This page intentionally left blank.

S PECIES, S ERPENTS, S PIRITS, AND S KULL S

S CIENCE AT THE M ARGINS V A IN THE ICTORIAN GE





Sherrie Lynne Lyons

Cover image:"The Great Serpent (According to Hans Egrede)."General Research Division. The New York Public Library. Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations.

Published by State University of New York Press, Albany

© 2009 State University of New York

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.

For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY www.sunypress.edu

Production by Eileen A. Meehan Marketing by Anne M. Valentine

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lyons, Sherrie Lynne, 1947– Species, serpents, spirits, and skulls : science at the margins in the victorian age / Sherrie Lynne Lyons. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4384-2797-3 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Science—Great Britain—History—19th century. 2. Great Britain—Intellectual life—19th century. I. Title. Q127.G4L96 2009 509.41'09034—dc22 2008054150 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For Cassandra and Grahame

This page intentionally left blank.

List of Illustrations

Preface

Acknowledgments

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

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 SkepsisHuxley and Evolutionary Theory: Thomas

Negotiating the Boundaries of Science: An Ongoing Process

Notes

Bibliography

Index

vii

i

x

x

i

xiii

1

1

5

7

1

8

7

111

147

171

205

223

235

This page intentionally left blank.