THE ARCHEAN CONTROVERSY IN BRITAIN .4. SOME GENERAL THEORETICAL AND SOCIAL-ISSUES

The main theoretical issues in the study of the history of the Archaea n Controversy in Britain, which arose in the first three papers of the present series, are summarized and discussed-in particular the proble m of stratigraphical work in rocks where no fossils can be discerned. The 'Archaean' geologists showed some leanings towards Neo-Neptunism a nd this, together with the fact that their work challenged the Murchis on/Survey view of British geology, was one of the reasons for the cont roversy. At a deeper level, however, the question concerned the doctri ne of uniformitarianism: Were metamorphic rocks to be found at any par t of the stratigraphical column, or were they confined to the earliest period of the Earth's history? The establishment of the concept of Pr ecambrian rocks and a suitable stratotype boundary is essentially a so cial question that has to be determined within the geological communit y. Some of the social processes whereby these matters are decided inte rnationally are considered, and it is noted that the best location of the 'Golden Spike' for the Precambrian/Cambrian boundary has only just been settled (by vote). The paper also explores some nineteenth-centu ry ideas about the nature of metamorphism, and the early conditions of the world.