Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Nothing in Biology Geology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution Geosynclinal Theory

Rabbi Klinghoffer's clever title was too good to pass up: Nothing in Biology Geology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution Geosynclinal Theory:

The geosynclinal theory is one of the great unifying principles of geology. In many ways its role in geology is similar to that of evolution that serves to integrate the many branches of biological sciences. The geosynclinal theory is of fundamental importance to sedimentation, petrology, geomorphology, ore deposits, structural geology, geophysics, and practically all the minor branches of geological science. Just as the doctrine of organic evolution is universally accepted among thinking biologists, so also the geosynclinal origin of the major mountain ranges is an established principle in geology. [Thomas Clark and Colin Stearn, The Geological Evolution of North America: A Regional Approach to Historical Geology, p.43 (Ronald Press, 1960)]

The only problem was that the geosynclinal theory was overturned a decade later by the theory of plate tectonics.

The lesson to be drawn is that no scientific theory, no matter how well integrated into all of its sub-disciplines, is ever completely safe. Not even evolution.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not even ID?

Bilbo said...

Not even ID. I don't recommend to anyone that they base their religious or non-religious views on scientific theories, which are based on empirical data and always subject to revision or even complete rejection.