Dějiny věd a techniky, No. 1, Vol. XLV (2012)

AS AN INTRODUCTION TO 2012


DVT 121, 3
Význam teorie kontinentálního driftu Alfreda Wegenera
Aleš Špičák

Significance of the continental drift theory of Alfred Wegener
The article reconsiders the origin of the theory and its basic importance for the hypothesis of plate tectonics , which was formulated in 1960s and forms up to the present a universal theory in the Earth Sciences.

Keywords: Alfred Wegener ● continental drift ● plate tectonics ● history of the Earth Sciences

Summary: Alfred Wegener’s consideration of the existence of a supercontinent in the geological past had a predecessor in Abraham O rtelius (1596) and in the so-called geosyncline theory of Earth development of Austrian geologist Edward Suess (1831–1914). Wegener coordinated their observations through a hypothesis according which all continents were during a certain era a part of single supercontinent Pangea. Those who argued against Wegener’s theory were mainly geophysicists but the opposition against it at times probably had somewhat less rational causes. Wegener’s hypothesis of the continental drift finally gained support in 1960s thanks to outstanding researchers concentrated at four research institutions. The theory of continental drift thus became one of the pillars of a newly formulated hypothesis of plate tectonics, the universal theory of the contemporary Earth Sciences.

PAPERS


DVT 121, 7
Konec „nenahraditelného muže“. Likvidace R. Heydricha v lékařském kontextu (I. část) Michal V. Šimůnek

The end of the ‘irreplaceable man.’ The liquidation of Reinhard Heydrich in a medical context. Part. I.
The assassination of Reinhard Heydrich represents an important event in twentieth-century Czech and European history. Despite the fact that there exists extensive literature on this subject, what has been missing is an overview that would, based on accessible archive sources and published knowledge, summarize his medical treatment after the attack from May 27 to June 4, 1942. Yet the outcome of the medical care he received in many ways played a crucial role. The aim of the present study is therefore to offer such a summary in the context of the history of medicine and in connection with the state of medical practice in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.

Key words: Heydrich ● Assassination ● Medical Treatment ● World War II

Summary: The goal of this contribution is to summarize existing information and its interpretation pertaining to a relatively short, yet absolutely crucial period immediately following the attack on Reinhard Heydrich on May 27, 1942, and ending with the Deputy Reich Protector’s death on June 4, 1942. The first part of the article focuses on the causality of events that resulted in the given type of injury. The remainder of the study analyses the first aid that was or was not provided, that is, issues that fall into the history of medicine. The author’s aim is to use all available sources of information, including less known ones.


DVT 121, 30
Vladimír J. A. Novák (1919–1997) a dějiny jedné koncepce (II. část)
Petr Hampl

Vladimír J. A. Novák (1919–1997) and history of one concept (2nd part).
The article covers the history of evolutionary biology, its personnel and scientific basis, focusing on the theory of sociogenesis of Vladimír J. A. Novák. It shows the main principles and results of the theory and follows the first part of the article concerning Novák’s life.

Keywords: history of biology ● Vladimír J. A. Novák ● sociogenesis ● evolutionary biology

Summary: The article covers the history of evolutionary biology in the Czechoslovakia from the 1950s to the 1990s. It presents Vladimír Jan Amos Novák’s (1919–1997) theory of evolution and ontogenesis called sociogenesis. This theory was based on older traditions of G erman and Russian morphology and also on the Marxist and Engelsian worldview. It divides the living world into five grades according to the level of sociability. Every grade goes through five phases that increase the sociability of organisms. The sociogenetic classification is not identical with morphological or genetic ones and implements its own system based in the degree of sociability. Thus Novák classifies animals by asserting that the more social animal, the higher it is in the evolutionary tree, which has some peculiar implications. The evolutionary process progresses towards social behavior and complex societies. Human evolution is progressive towards its final stage – the stage of communist society. Interestingly, because of their complex societies, social insects are seen as more evolved animals than human beings.



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