Chapter two - Waleska Reyes
Kolbert begins this chapter by discussing the idea of extinction and how to many people it wasn’t an obvious idea. Kolbert gives the example of Aristotle’s’ History of Animals that she believes it didn’t “ever considering the possibility that animals actually had a history”.
Kolbert explains that the idea of extinction began during the Renaissance when the word “fossil” was first used. During the Enlightenment, many people believed that rather than extinction animals simply evolved. I predict that during this chapter the theories of extinction versus evolution will be discussed.
Cuvier is introduced as the person who set in motion the idea that animals go extinct. The book emphasizes that Cuvier did not have any evidence to back up his theory, however, he believed that the fossils that were dug up as well as animal remains were enough proof to set the idea in motion. Cuvier can be connected to many Renaissance men that questioned common beliefs. For example the Heliocentric and Geocentric theories. Combative ideas in science have existed for centuries. Just like the Heliocentric theory was proven Cuvier's extinction idea became more realistic as more fossils began to be discovered.
This chapter relates greatly to the idea that thinking evolves over time. Furthermore the theme I related this chapter to is: science is a method of learning more about the world. With science, through digging up the fossils, Cuvier’s theory was proven to be true. Now due to this information, we are able to understand our planet’s history better.
No comments:
Post a Comment