The topic under discussion in Melvyn Bragg’s In Our Time this week was geology: Neo-Catastrophism.
Catastrophism had previously been posited (by e.g. Cuvier and Buffon in the 18th century) to explain geologic processes but was subsequently replaced by its direct opposite, Uniformitarianism (e.g. by Lyell in his Principles of Geology from the 19th century). Uniformitarianism has since held sway……… until recently, that is. It appears that some genius has spotted the third leg of the Hegelian dialectic i.e. the synthesis of the original thesis, Catastrophism, and its antithesis, Uniformitarianism, and has come up with Neo-Catastrophism (which in spite of its name does contain both previous theories). I am gob-smacked and awed by the intellectual stature of the man that came up with this astounding new contribution to the science of geology………!!!
I call this Contrarianism in Action in deference to the creative processes that led Lyell (well, in truth, Hutton, but he did not get his full due in the programme) to formulate his theory in contradiction to his French predecessors. One cannot call Neo-Catastrophism a contrary hypothesis, but in the tradition of the Hegelian Dialectic, this new theory will soon become a thesis upon which the next genius in the field of geology will use Contrarianism to produce its antithesis.
This is science in action. This is the scientific method. Awesome or what???
PS: Readers eager for an in-depth analysis of Contrarianism may wish to view my previous post: The Contrarian.