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A Plea for a New Synthesis: From Twentieth-Century Paleobiology to Twenty-First-Century Paleontology and Back Again
SIMPLE SUMMARY: This article examines the relationship between twentieth- and twenty-first-century paleobiology. After summarizing the disciplinary problem of paleontology in the mid-twentieth century, I focus on five representative research topics in contemporary paleontology. In doing so, I outlin...
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
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MDPI
2022
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Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9394316/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35892976 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/biology11081120 |
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author | Tamborini, Marco |
author_facet | Tamborini, Marco |
author_sort | Tamborini, Marco |
collection | PubMed |
description | SIMPLE SUMMARY: This article examines the relationship between twentieth- and twenty-first-century paleobiology. After summarizing the disciplinary problem of paleontology in the mid-twentieth century, I focus on five representative research topics in contemporary paleontology. In doing so, I outline twenty-first-century paleontology as a science that seeks more data, more technology, and more integration. At the end of the paper, I highlight a possible new paleobiological revolution: it would give paleontologists strong political representation to deal with issues such as expanded evolutionary synthesis, conservation of the Earth’s environment, and global climate change. ABSTRACT: In this paper, I will briefly discuss the elements of novelty and continuity between twentieth-century paleobiology and twenty-first-century paleontology. First, I will outline the heated debate over the disciplinary status of paleontology in the mid-twentieth century. Second, I will analyze the main theoretical issue behind this debate by considering two prominent case studies within the broader paleobiology agenda. Third, I will turn to twenty-first century paleontology and address five representative research topics. In doing so, I will characterize twenty-first century paleontology as a science that strives for more data, more technology, and more integration. Finally, I will outline what twenty-first-century paleontology might inherit from twentieth-century paleobiology: the pursuit of and plea for a new synthesis that could lead to a second paleobiological revolution. Following in the footsteps of the paleobiological revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, the paleobiological revolution of the twenty-first century would enable paleontologists to gain strong political representation and argue with a decisive voice at the “high table” on issues such as the expanded evolutionary synthesis, the conservation of Earth’s environment, and global climate change. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-9394316 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2022 |
publisher | MDPI |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-93943162022-08-23 A Plea for a New Synthesis: From Twentieth-Century Paleobiology to Twenty-First-Century Paleontology and Back Again Tamborini, Marco Biology (Basel) Commentary SIMPLE SUMMARY: This article examines the relationship between twentieth- and twenty-first-century paleobiology. After summarizing the disciplinary problem of paleontology in the mid-twentieth century, I focus on five representative research topics in contemporary paleontology. In doing so, I outline twenty-first-century paleontology as a science that seeks more data, more technology, and more integration. At the end of the paper, I highlight a possible new paleobiological revolution: it would give paleontologists strong political representation to deal with issues such as expanded evolutionary synthesis, conservation of the Earth’s environment, and global climate change. ABSTRACT: In this paper, I will briefly discuss the elements of novelty and continuity between twentieth-century paleobiology and twenty-first-century paleontology. First, I will outline the heated debate over the disciplinary status of paleontology in the mid-twentieth century. Second, I will analyze the main theoretical issue behind this debate by considering two prominent case studies within the broader paleobiology agenda. Third, I will turn to twenty-first century paleontology and address five representative research topics. In doing so, I will characterize twenty-first century paleontology as a science that strives for more data, more technology, and more integration. Finally, I will outline what twenty-first-century paleontology might inherit from twentieth-century paleobiology: the pursuit of and plea for a new synthesis that could lead to a second paleobiological revolution. Following in the footsteps of the paleobiological revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, the paleobiological revolution of the twenty-first century would enable paleontologists to gain strong political representation and argue with a decisive voice at the “high table” on issues such as the expanded evolutionary synthesis, the conservation of Earth’s environment, and global climate change. MDPI 2022-07-26 /pmc/articles/PMC9394316/ /pubmed/35892976 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/biology11081120 Text en © 2022 by the author. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
spellingShingle | Commentary Tamborini, Marco A Plea for a New Synthesis: From Twentieth-Century Paleobiology to Twenty-First-Century Paleontology and Back Again |
title | A Plea for a New Synthesis: From Twentieth-Century Paleobiology to Twenty-First-Century Paleontology and Back Again |
title_full | A Plea for a New Synthesis: From Twentieth-Century Paleobiology to Twenty-First-Century Paleontology and Back Again |
title_fullStr | A Plea for a New Synthesis: From Twentieth-Century Paleobiology to Twenty-First-Century Paleontology and Back Again |
title_full_unstemmed | A Plea for a New Synthesis: From Twentieth-Century Paleobiology to Twenty-First-Century Paleontology and Back Again |
title_short | A Plea for a New Synthesis: From Twentieth-Century Paleobiology to Twenty-First-Century Paleontology and Back Again |
title_sort | plea for a new synthesis: from twentieth-century paleobiology to twenty-first-century paleontology and back again |
topic | Commentary |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9394316/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35892976 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/biology11081120 |
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