如果把地球科学哲学的重大变革称为地学革命,那么,这样的革命至少已经发生过两次。第一次是所谓水火之争,即以Werner为代表的水成论和以Hutton为代表的火成论的争论,结果Hutton的火成论获胜。接着,以Lyell和Darwin为旗手的新的科学思想体系又战胜了以Cuvier为代表的灾变论和神创论的挑战,导致了均变论或现实主义原理的诞生。这是唯物主义对唯心主义的胜利,是人类认识史上的第一次地学革命。均变论的诞生奠定了地球科学的思想理论基础,也开始了以固定论作为其哲学基础的地槽论长达一百多年的统治。战后海洋地质研究的迅猛发展导致板块构造理论的兴起,这就是第二次地学革命。这次革命是海陆统一的新地球观对以陆地为基础的狭隘地球观的胜利,标志着人类观察地球的视野从局部扩展到全球。但是,板块理论的兴起,决不意味着人类对地球认识的终结。人类还必须从更大的参照系统来研究作为行星的地球,以及地球本身作为一个物质系统的运动和发展。在这一过程中,海洋地质研究将起到不可替代的作用。 If we call the major revolution in earth science philosophy a geo-revolution, then such a revolution has happened at least twice. For the first time, the so-called war of water and fire, that is, the water theory represented by Werner and the fire theory represented by Hutton argues that Hutton’s fire theory won. Then, the new scientific system of thought with the banner of Lyell and Darwin defeated the catastrophe theory represented by Cuvier and the creationism challenge, which led to the birth of the theory of change or realism. This is materialism’s victory over idealism and the first geomagnetic revolution in the history of human knowledge. The birth of the law of unification lays the ideological and theoretical foundation of earth science and begins the reign of the earth trough with fixed theory as its philosophical foundation for more than one hundred years. The rapid development of post-war marine geological research led to the rise of plate tectonics theory, which is the second geomagnetic revolution. This revolution is the victory of the new concept of the Earth by the integration of land and sea on the narrow concept of land based on the earth. It marks the extension of the horizon of human observation of the Earth from the local to the global. However, the rise of plate theory in no way means the end of human understanding of the earth. Humans must also study Earth as a planet from a larger frame of reference, as well as the movement and development of the Earth itself as a material system. In this process, marine geological research will play an irreplaceable role.