Paleontology: A Philosophical Introduction (Cambridge Introductions to Philosophy and Biology)

In the wake of the paleobiological revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, paleontologists continue to investigate far-reaching questions about how evolution works. Many of those questions have a philosophical dimension. How is macroevolution related to evolutionary changes within populations? Is evolutionary history contingent? How much can we know about the causes of evolutionary trends? How do paleontologists read the patterns in the fossil record to learn about the underlying evolutionary processes? Derek Turner explores these and other questions, introducing the reader to exciting recent work in the philosophy of paleontology and to theoretical issues including punctuated equilibria and species selection. He also critically examines some of the major accomplishments and arguments of paleontologists of the last 40 years.

Science & Math

Turner, Derek

Biological Sciences

Cambridge University Press

Scientists often make surprising claims about things that no one can observe. In physics, chemistry, and molecular biology, scientists can at least experiment on those unobservable entities, but what about researchers in fields such as paleobiology and geology who study prehistory, where no such experimentation is possible? Do scientists discover facts about the distant past or do they, in some sense, make prehistory? In this book Derek Turner argues that this problem has surprising and important consequences for the scientific realism debate. His discussion covers some of the main positions in philosophy of science - realism, social constructivism, empiricism, and the natural ontological attitude - and shows how they relate to issues in paleobiology and geology. His original and thought-provoking book will be of wide interest to philosophers and scientists alike.

Making Prehistory: Historical Science and the Scientific Realism Debate (Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Biology)

History

Ancient Civilizations

Historical Guide to Surrey

PHILIP\'S

Black Death: Then and There Series

Education & Teaching

Schools & Teaching

Longman Trade/Caroline House

The Black Death (Then and There)

Children's Books

Addison-Wesley Longman Ltd

A New Atlas for English School Education

lulu.com

Chet Bright faced the prospect of death on the water many times – during World War II, Korea and Vietnam – but in the end the sea was his savior. The son of a West Texas cowboy, he ran away at seventeen to join the military after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Aboard a destroyer during World War II, as a frogman with the Navy's elite Underwater Demolition Teams in Korea and later as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal expert, Bright found himself anchored to life on the water. It thrilled him and it scarred him, but he could not untether himself from the adventure it promised. Bluejacket is the story of those adventures, from his time at war to his post-military years sailing the Caribbean in a boat built from a shell in his back yard. He gave his life to the sea. In return, it gave him these memories.

Bluejacket: A Sailor's Life

Biographies & Memoirs

Bright, Chet

Leaders & Notable People

Bowling Green Publishing

A catastrophe on a quiet coast and overnight England is drowning in guilt, suspicion, hypocrisy, and racial recriminations. As politicians and journalists jockey for position, an unlucky Iraqi immigrant and a plain-speaking English farmer are swept up in world-breaking weather, which threatens to overthrow England forever.

Sea Changes

Literature & Fiction

Contemporary

Radix

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Turner, Derek. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Turner, Derek