List of scientific debates

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]
• 1895 Lübeck Debate between Ludwig Boltzmann and Wilhelm Ostwald on the existence of atoms. ^[11]
• 1920 Great Debate (astronomy) between Harlow Shapley and Heber Curtis on the scale of spiral nebulae and the Universe. ^[12]
• 1927–1935 Bohr–Einstein debates between Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr on interpretations of quantum mechanics. ^[13]
• 1936–1944 Chandrasekhar–Eddington dispute, between Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar and Arthur Eddington on the limits of star masses. ^[14]
• 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. ^[15]

Philosophy of science

• 1965 Kuhn–Popper debate between Thomas Kuhn and Karl Popper on scientific research methodology. ^[16]

Theology and science

• 2014 Bill Nye–Ken Ham debate by Bill Nye and Ken Ham on science and creationism and evolution. ^[17]

See also

• List of scientific priority disputes
• Math wars

References

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. "The Great Debate". oumnh.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
4. "From the Archives: 'I'll let him know his place in nature'". The Linnean Society. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
5. 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
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Hellman, Hal (2010-12-17). Great Feuds in Mathematics: Ten of the Liveliest Disputes Ever. Turner Publishing Company. ISBN   978-1-118-04011-9.
9. Carl, J. Posy (1998). "Brouwer versus Hilbert: 1907–1928". Science in Context. 11 (2): 291–325. doi:10.1017/S0269889700003021. ISSN   1474-0664.
10. "20th WCP: Leibniz's Theory of Space in the Correspondence with Clarke and the Existence of Vacuums". www.bu.edu. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
11. 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.
12. "This Month in Physics History". www.aps.org. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
13. Ball, Phillip (2024-04-10). "Entangled entities: Bohr, Einstein and the battle over quantum fundamentals". Physics World. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
14. "Chandrasekhar Eddington". Maths History. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
15. 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.
16. Fuller, Steve (2006). Kuhn Vs Popper: The Struggle for the Soul of Science. Icon Books. ISBN   978-1-84046-722-2.
17. Chappell, Bill (2014-02-06). "Who 'Won' The Creation Vs. Evolution Debate?". NPR. Retrieved 2025-01-31.