terraqueous

Again, the example of sailing to America presents problems for the principle of underdetermination: we have seen that although Bodin proposed an alternative to the terraqueous globe theory, it was never viable; not a single person came to its support.

The terraqueous globe theory was not underdetermined; in this case the relationship between the theory and the facts was a tight one, not a loose one.

The victory of the terraqueous globe theory following the discovery of America is the first great triumph of experience over philosophical deduction, and thus the beginning of a revolution.

The discovery of antipodes led straight to the concept of the terraqueous globe; but Copernicanism did not lead directly to the view that all planets shine by reflected light—the telescope had to intervene.

An immediate consequence, therefore, which is the subject of Chapter 4, was a radical transformation in the understanding of how the Earth is constructed: the emergence of the concept of the terraqueous globe.