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The Zetetic Society and modern Flat-Earthers
Come to the History of Science Collections if you would like to browse The Zetetic Society journal, the official late 19th-century flat Earth journal. The Journal was produced as a companion to the work by an anonymous writer known as "Parallax," actually Samuel Rowbotham, entitled Zetetic Astronomy: Earth not a Globe (London, 1873).
By the end of the 19th century, the erroneous view that the medievals thought the Earth is flat was well entrenched. In an ironic twist, it was so engrained as to be seized upon by some, like Samuel Rowbotham, who wished to protest against the evils of modernism by embracing the traditions of an idealized, pre-modern past. Rowbotham promoted the anti-modernist idea of a flat Earth for many years as an itinerant lecturer. The first edition of this book in 1865 contained 220 pages; this second edition has 430 pages. The additions responded to various critics who (for some reason!) reviewed the first edition unfavorably. Rowbotham issued a £1000 challenge to anyone who could prove him wrong. Alfred Russell Wallace tried unsuccessfully to claim the reward.
Many people fail to understand that these flat-Earthers are a modern phenomenon, not a medieval or early modern movement. They arose in reaction to polarizing rhetoric about scientific authority in the late 19th century. Yes, that's right, they're of recent origin. But most people take them as proof of the pre-modern belief in a flat earth, which they are not. The story of the shape of the Earth is much more interesting than many suppose.
Just for laughs, you might want to visit the Flat Earth Society website:
This site is maintained by "true believers," who seriously advocate that the Earth is flat, somewhat like this:
You're probably wondering how they explain the photographs of Earth from space...
Indeed, modern flat-Earthers dismiss such evidence by arguing that the government of the USA, and indeed of the whole world, is organized to propagate a round Earth conspiracy. The above-cited FAQ explains: "They only appear to be disorganized to make the conspiracy seem implausible."
This claim reminds me of the Will Rogers' comment: "I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat."
"The earth was made round so we would not see too far down the road." Karen Blixen
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HSCI 3013. History
of Science to 17th century |
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Many thanks to the pedagogical model developed in Mythology and Folklore and other online courses by Laura Gibbs, which have been an inspiration for this course.
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This course is currently undergoing major reconstruction to bring it into alignment with the new version of the course at Janux |
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