This is a list of notable scientific debates in the history of science and mathematics.
Biology
- 1764–1778 Voltaire vs Needham, between Voltaire and John Needham and others on the validity of preformationism.[1]
- 1830 Cuvier–Geoffroy debate between Georges Cuvier and Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire on animal structure.[2]
- 1860 Oxford evolution debate between several scientists on Charles Darwin's Origin of the Species.[3]
- 1860–1862 Great Hippocampus Question, between Thomas Henry Huxley and Richard Owen on the importance of hippocampus minor.[4]
Chemistry and nanoscience
- 2001–2003 Drexler–Smalley debate on molecular nanotechnology by K. Eric Drexler and Richard Smalley on the feasibility of molecular assemblers.[5]
Mathematics
- 1655–1679 Hobbes–Wallis controversy, between Thomas Hobbes and John Wallis on geometry and other topics.[6]
- 1745 Leibniz–Bernoulli correspondence, between Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and Johann Bernoulli on the logarithm of negative numbers.[7]
- 1903–1912 Poincaré vs. Russell, between Henri Poincaré and Bertrand Russell on logicism and mathematical paradoxes.[8]
- 1907–1928 Brouwer–Hilbert foundational debate or Grundlagenstreit, between and L. E. J. Brouwer and David Hilbert on foundations of mathematics.[9]
Physics and astronomy
- 1715–1716 Leibniz–Clarke correspondence, between Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and Samuel Clarke on space being absolute.[10]
- 1857–1901 Kelvin–Stokes aether drag debate, on whether the luminiferous aether was unstable when considered a perfect fluid. Debate between Lord Kelvin and George Stokes.[11][12]
- 1895 Lübeck Debate between Ludwig Boltzmann and Wilhelm Ostwald on the existence of atoms.[13]
- 1920 Great Debate (astronomy) between Harlow Shapley and Heber Curtis on the scale of spiral nebulae and the Universe.[14]
- 1927–1935 Bohr–Einstein debates between Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr on interpretations of quantum mechanics.[15]
- 1936–1944 Chandrasekhar–Eddington dispute, between Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar and Arthur Eddington on the limits of star masses.[16]
- 1949–1964 Big Bang vs. steady-state, dispute between Fred Hoyle supporter of the steady-state model of the universe and George Gamow supporter of the Big Bang.[17]
Philosophy of science
- 1965 Kuhn–Popper debate between Thomas Kuhn and Karl Popper on scientific research methodology.[18]
Theology and science
- 2014 Bill Nye–Ken Ham debate by Bill Nye and Ken Ham on science and creationism and evolution.[19]
See also
References
- ^ Roe, Shirley A. (1985). "Voltaire Versus Needham: Atheism, Materialism, and the Generation of Life". Journal of the History of Ideas. 46 (1): 65–87. doi:10.2307/2709776. ISSN 0022-5037.
- ^ Appel, Toby A. (1987-03-26). The Cuvier-Geoffrey Debate: French Biology in the Decades before Darwin. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-536480-4.
- ^ "The Great Debate". oumnh.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
- ^ "From the Archives: 'I'll let him know his place in nature'". The Linnean Society. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
- ^ Bueno, Otávio (2006), "The drexler-smalley debate on nanotechnology: incommensurability at work?", Nanotechnology Challenges, WORLD SCIENTIFIC, pp. 29–48, doi:10.1142/9789812773975_0003, ISBN 978-981-256-729-1, retrieved 2025-01-31
- ^ Jesseph, Douglas (2018-10-10). "Geometry, religion and politics: context and consequences of the Hobbes–Wallis dispute". Notes and Records: the Royal Society Journal of the History of Science. 72 (4): 469–486. doi:10.1098/rsnr.2018.0026.
- ^ Goldstine, H. H. (2012-12-06). A History of Numerical Analysis from the 16th through the 19th Century. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-1-4684-9472-3.
- ^ Hellman, Hal (2010-12-17). Great Feuds in Mathematics: Ten of the Liveliest Disputes Ever. Turner Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1-118-04011-9.
- ^ Carl, J. Posy (1998). "Brouwer versus Hilbert: 1907–1928". Science in Context. 11 (2): 291–325. doi:10.1017/S0269889700003021. ISSN 1474-0664.
- ^ "20th WCP: Leibniz's Theory of Space in the Correspondence with Clarke and the Existence of Vacuums". www.bu.edu. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
- ^ Darrigol, Olivier (2005). Worlds of flow : a history of hydrodynamics from the Bernoullis to Prandtl. Internet Archive. Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-856843-8.
- ^ Darrigol, Olivier (2002). "Stability and instability in nineteenth-century fluid mechanics". Revue d'histoire des mathématiques. 8 (1): 5–65. ISSN 1777-568X.
- ^ Lindley, David (2015-12-19). Boltzmanns Atom: The Great Debate That Launched A Revolution In Physics. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-5011-4267-3.
- ^ "This Month in Physics History". www.aps.org. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
- ^ Ball, Phillip (2024-04-10). "Entangled entities: Bohr, Einstein and the battle over quantum fundamentals". Physics World. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
- ^ "Chandrasekhar Eddington". Maths History. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
- ^ Hiscott, Laura (2021-12-22). "Two scientists' debate over whether the universe had a beginning – and how the elements were created". Physics World. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
- ^ Fuller, Steve (2006). Kuhn Vs Popper: The Struggle for the Soul of Science. Icon Books. ISBN 978-1-84046-722-2.
- ^ Chappell, Bill (2014-02-06). "Who 'Won' The Creation Vs. Evolution Debate?". NPR. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
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