The Big Bang before the Big Bang

According to received opinion, the Big Bang theory of cosmology was formulated by Lemaître in the first half of the 20th century, and received acceptance as a scientific account of the Universe in the later 20th century. This paper examines some ideas and passages by a trio of unorthodox cosmologists from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (Erasmus Darwin, Edgar Allan Poe and Herbert Spencer) and shows how they anticipate some of the the major outlines of the Big Bang theory. Although their insights were not formulated within the discipline of mathematical physics, they should not be disregarded in their role as cosmologists, as the construction of mental and narrative models is an important aspect of evolutionary science. It was such insights that allowed to conceive of cosmology and physics as evolutionary sciences, a paradigm change that is still under way.

"El Big Bang antes del Big Bang—en Spencer, Darwin, y Poe (The Big Bang before the Big Bang—in Spencer, Darwin, and Poe)." Social Science Research Network 10 July 2014.*

http://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=2463993

Cultural Anthropology eJournal 10 July 2014.

http://www.ssrn.com/link/Cultural-Anthropology.html

English & Commonwealth Literature eJournal 10 July 2014

http://www.ssrn.com/link/English-Commonwealth-Lit.html

Philosophy of Science eJournal 10 July 2014

http://www.ssrn.com/link/Philosophy-Science.html

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