Is it true that our worldview influences the way we interpret data from the natural world? Is it also possible that observations from the natural world trigger revolutions in thinking? Exploring sites around the European Alps, this series looks at some historical examples of controversies in science and geology that illustrate the dynamic and complex relationship between scientific models and philosophical concepts.
Clash of Ideas, Episode 1
This episode unfolds at the foothills of the Italian Alps, between Venice and Padova. It was here that Galileo Galilei broke the Aristotelian distinction between perfect heavenly bodies and imperfect Earth.…
Clash of Ideas, Episode 2
This episode, centered around the town of Predazzo in the Dolomites of Italy, addresses the early modern geology controversy on the origin of granites. At stake in this debate was much more than the origin…
Clash of Ideas, Episode 3
This episode, filmed in the spectacular Swiss Alps of canton Glarus, presents an account of the development of ideas on the origin of mountains. It is both humbling and exciting to realize how much geological…
Clash of Ideas, Episode 4
This episode explains how an enigmatic suite of dark rocks in the Swiss Alps bears witness to the enormous tectonic forces which have been unleashed in the past history of our planet. If you are a teacher,…
