Abstract
The great German paleontologist Walter Georg Kühne (1911–1991) published a book in 1979 with the Title Paläontologie und dialektischer Materialismus (Palaeontology and Dialectic Materialism). This inapposite title is very far from reflecting the contents of the book that includes a superb analysis of how to perform research in palaeontology and describes ways to making new discoveries. Most likely because of its title the book remains little read. It should however be read especially by those aspiring to do research in the earth sciences. One could read it without much loss by skipping the Marxist tirades that make up only a very small percentage of the text of a 131 page-long book anyway. An English translation would be particularly valuable.
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Notes
‘I’m tired enough of this dry tone,—
Must play the devil again, and fully.’
Translation by Bayard Taylor (Taylor, undated [1870])
Earlier claims of rapid evolution of the Tuatara have been shown recently to be incorrect: see Gemmell et al. (2020).
Kühne does not give the full reference to this book: it is ‘Akademie der Wissenschaften der UdSSR, Institut für Ökonomie, Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, Zentralkomitee, Marx-Engels-Lenin-Stalin-Institut, Zentralkomitee der Sozialistischen Einheitspartei Deutschlands, 1955, Politische Ökonomie—Lehrbuch: Dietz Verlag, Berlin, 720 pp.’.
When I was his student, I saw absolutely no indication that he was a Marxist. In sharp contrast, he had an aristocratic demeanor and an extremely critical mind. I think he influenced me not to take anything on trust in science. As I said above, I wish his book had been available before I became his student. Many a thing he evidently tried to make us understand would have been easier to grasp.
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Şengör, A.M.C. An outstanding scientist, a great book and an infernal title. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 110, 759–765 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-021-01989-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-021-01989-y