Husserl, Intentionality, and Cognitive Science Book

When it was first suggested that I read this volume I was resistant, as I had already read Lanham’s The Bone Hunters and felt I had been sufficiently schooled in the Cope/Marsh dinosaur fossils “war”. While Lanham’s book did a good job of introducing the battle, it was a mere shadow of what, according to this volume, actually occurred and what were the ramifications of those actions. As is true with all books dealing with history or historical events, there are many names, dates, events that are mentioned in both books and such information can be tedious and cause the book to get “bogged down.” When, however, they are mentioned in a context of clear timeline, the breadth and significance of those names/dates/events connect “then” with “now” in a manner that is surprising and enlightening. Mr. Jaffe is to be commended for doing such in as concise manner.
Edward Drinker Cope was reared in a prosperous shipping family near Philadelphia. His Quaker parents instilled in him an ethic of hard work, intelligence, piety and devotion to task that was to serve him well in his life. Othniel Charles Marsh was born into modest means in the Northwest New York town of Lockport. Because of his innate curiosity, superior intellect and the generosity of his uncle, financier George Peabody, he was able to study at Yale and THE centers of learning in Europe. Both men were of vast intelligence, strong wills and egos that seem to be connected to such traits. Initially, they were collegial if not colleagues in their interest in the budding field of Paleontology. As their careers began to bloom, the desire to be recognized for their contributions likewise grew. What began, on both their parts, as a desire to learn and expand a new field grew to be one of the most famous, vicious and, in terms of present day science, beneficial feuds in history.
Both men began gathering dinosaur bones when doing so meant risking: being starved in the wilderness of the Western U.S., die from heat stroke, killed by Indians or lost in a land that was in charted and unfriendly. What they discovered, between the efforts of both, were some of the richest fossil beds in the world. Because they were the first to discover said bones, they earned the right to name the animal to which the bones belonged and there was the battle line of their war. So many bones, from so many prehistoric animals were being found in various locations in such a relative short time that they were soon at odds over “who found what, when.” As a result of their challenging each other, and the science they were helping to expand, their scientific papers became the standard of the field. The preciseness and definitive nature of their work continues to influence the fields of paleontology, geology, botany and ornithology to this day.
Had either Dr. Marsh or Dr. Cope allowed themselves to step outside of their egos long enough to catch a glimpse of what they could do had they worked together, their discoveries would have multiplied exponentially. Cope was a visionary who possessed a gift for writing exact papers detailing what he has found. Marsh was a gifted administrator whose drive and determination played a large part in bringing a mysterious science into the popular mainstream. Both were gifted in their ability to discover bones that had been hidden for so long that time had yet to be invented when first they were laid down. Their bravery and determination were shown to be needed in making America a world leader in Science and scientific research.
Perhaps their decade’s long feud was needed to bring about such sweeping advancements in science. Had not each goaded the other to expand their reach in order to “win” an undeclared war, they would not have demanded so much of themselves and of their discipline. Whatever the case, the benefits brought about by these two academic giants can still be felt in every natural history display or dinosaur movie/book present today. Their discoveries brought light areas of evolution, physiology, philosophy and theology that are the basis of much of our present day knowledge. Such are the gifts of their war.