Heaven and Earth—The Relation of the Nebular Hypothesis to Geology

Theories of the origin of the solar system 1956- 1985

“…Both Buffon and Laplace assumed that Earth and the other planets started as hot gaseous spheres that gradually cooled and solidified. This assumption became the basis for most 19th-century geological theorizing (Lawrence, 1977).…”

Nebular Contraction and the Expansion of Naturalism

“…3 While Ogilvie has documented the changing fortunes of the nebular hypothesis in Britain through successive editions of Vestiges,* Schweber has contrasted the reception of the Comtean version in Britain with that in France.5 The impact of the nebular hypothesis on geological theory has been studied by Lawrence. 6 Its effect on natural theology, when incorporated into schemes of organic evolution, has been discussed by Brooke,7 and most recently by Baxter. 8 Given the European focus of these particular studies, it is a pleasure to welcome a complementary and informative essay on the nebular hypothesis in American thought.…”

“…By the time he was trying to save other worlds from Whewell's onslaught, anything smacking of the nebular hypothesis was anathema to him. * 6 On his own testimony, he had adopted all the extravagant ideas about nebulous matter, but abandoned them when they became the 'basis of mischievous speculation'. 2 ?…”

“…In France, Comte had applied the nebular hypothesis to our own solar system, if to no other, but his critique of Larmarck's transformism prevented his positivist disciples from assimilating the Darwinian thesis.34 In Britain, Whewell could adopt a restricted version of the nebular hypothesis to account for the earth's origins but with the express purpose of showing that the creation of intelligent life on its surface transcended the operation of physical laws. 35 In America, Asa Gray, who was to prove so very sympathetic to Darwin's theory, had earlier denied that the nebular hypothesis had any bearing on the probability of man's derivation from lower forms.3 6 No matter how germane the nebular hypothesis was to the directionalist geological system which Lyell failed to knock, a well-defined direction in the fossil record supported a pattern of progressive creation better than it supported Darwin's random, branching scheme.…”

Tantos sóis, tantos mundos, tantas hipóteses

“…Mesmo que inicialmente tenham surgido críticas e tenha sido geralmente encarada com certo ceticismo por volta da metade e no final do século XIX (LAWRENCE, 1977, p. 254), a hipótese nebular foi "o ponto de partida da maioria das discussões sobre a origem do sistema solar e o alvo daqueles que favoreciam alternativas" (BRUSH, 1996a, p. 37), o que indica a importância da teoria. Não houve alternativa teórica que tenha sido forte candidata a substituir a hipótese nebular no século XIX.…”