Aesthetic Considerations in the Development of Plate Tectonics
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Aesthetic considerations played a substantial and positive role in the development and acceptance of plate tectonics, the modern theory of the earth's major geological features and the unifying framework of the earth sciences. Here I give an overview of how aesthetics influenced plate tectonics and take a detailed look at a handful of examples from this history where elegance and simplicity tipped the balance in favour of a given hypothesis. I discuss some implications of this case study for extant accounts of aesthetics in science and argue that the positive role aesthetics played can be explained by recent accounts that posit an indirect and contingent link between knowledge and psychological mechanisms underlying aesthetic appreciation.
Author: Mariona E. Miyata-Sturm
Institution: University of Oxford
Language: English
Subfield: History and Philosophy of Science
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,740
OpenAlex ID: W4402737465