“Punctuated equilibria”: Rhetorical dynamics of a scientific controversy
- 1 May 1986
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in Quarterly Journal of Speech
- Vol. 72 (2) , 132-147
- https://doi.org/10.1080/00335638609383764
Abstract
A case study in the rhetoric of science, this essay follows the development of a controversy through a series of different audiences and interpretive frames. Originating as an attack on gradualistic assumptions in paleontology, the theory of “punctuated equilibria” was then posed as a broad challenge to evolutionary biology, prompting a range of responses within and without the scientific community. The essay highlights the problematic role of expertise as a scientific and rhetorical construction.Keywords
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