The Underlying Emotional Background of Quaternary Palaeontology: Nostalgia and Ubi Sunt in a Postdictive Science
The Underlying Emotional Background of Quaternary Palaeontology: Nostalgia and Ubi Sunt in a Postdictive Science
Author(s): Policarp HortolàSubject(s): Psychology, Metaphysics, Ancient World, Middle Ages, Modern Age, Philosophy of Science
Published by: Editura Universităţii »Alexandru Ioan Cuza« din Iaşi
Keywords: Psychology of science; sociology of science; history and philosophy of science; historical biology; fossil record; Pleistocene; Holocene;
Summary/Abstract: This short essay aims to provide insight into the emotional background underlying Quaternary palaeontology and encourage scholars to thoroughly discuss the psychological determining factors behind its practice. The nostalgia for past times and the feeling of loss of a world that will never return are the emotional landmark of Quaternary palaeontology. Due to its taste for perished things and nostalgic turn into the past, Quaternary palaeontology participates in the bias of the pagan version of the Ubi sunt elegiac motif. While this work specifically concerns Quaternary palaeontology, it can probably serve as a guide to reveal the perceptions and motivations behind other sciences.
Journal: Studia Antiqua et Archaeologica
- Issue Year: 26/2020
- Issue No: 2
- Page Range: 139-147
- Page Count: 9
- Language: English