The Interaction of Sciences in the Study of the Earth

Book excerpt: This book is a collection of articles on a variety of logically interlinked problems relating to the study of the earth and the evolution of the different sciences that engage in this study, the geosciences, as they are sometimes called: the nature and place of modern geology among other sciences, the tendencies in its development, the specific features of the so-called geological form of motion of matter and its connection with other forms of motion, the place of geophysics and geochemistry in the study of the planet and in the system of sciences investigating the earth, some philosophical aspects of the transformation of nature. On a number of questions the authors express different points of view, and the reader is able to judge for himself of the merits and demerits of their theories. The volume will no doubt be of interest to geologists, geophysicists, geochemists, geographers and philosophers, to say nothing of the ever growing circle of inquisitive readers who take an interest in the exploration of our native planet and the philosophical and methodological questions deriving therefrom. The papers were originally presented at joint the teorical conferences of philosophical (methodological) seminars scientific establishments of the U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences, The papers prepared for this collection were revised and supplemented by their authors.