CGS NS 201 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Natural Disaster, Botany, Polyphyly
6 Apr 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
William paley (1743-1805: wrote natural theology, promulgated watchmaker argument. Certain complex objects suggest an intelligence that casued them. Ex: if we come across a stone in a desert we might suppose that it had been there forever (not absurd to support this) We have never seen one made and do not understand all its workings/parts. And universe remains a design, with god as its designer, even if desgins seems not to function properly at times, as in cases of natural disaster like hurricanes and volcanic eruptions. Georges cuvier (1769-1832: vertebrate zoologist, founded science of paleontology (study of fossils, founded science of comparative anatomy, believe din fixity of species and creation. Used idea of catastrophism to explain mass extinctions. Explained appearance of new fossils in new strata of rock. Postulated that after each catastrophe, god created new species. Saw series of layers, some with fossils many without fossils: topmost layers contained most complex fossils, lower layers contained less complex fossils.
