Jon Thoreau Scott

The approach in this paper stems primarily from the application of principles of the philosophy of science to determine if current ideas on the forces of plate tectonics are plausible. The philosophic principles (1) Bacons scientific method using T. C. Chamberlins idea of examining multiple hypothesis; and (2) the characteristics of a good theory. it is shown that the driving forces of plate tectonics are not well understood. In particular, it is shown that the mantle convection and mantle plumes models are suspect primarily because these models cannot explain the very important anomaly that oceanic ridges between continental plates migrate away from the continents. These two convective models also have difficulty explaining many other anomalies and are termed "geomyths." Using Occams razor, a comparison of the ridge push forces of the plate model and a "far above" mechanism, suggested by the author, leads to a preference for the latter.