What is Uniformitarianism?
The concept of uniformity states that the natural laws and processes that scientists observe in the present day are the same ones that have always operated in the past. In geology, there is a gradual concept of uniformitarianism. It states that the present is the connection to the past. Additionally, it states that geological occurrences are taking place at the same rate as before. William Whewell is credited with coining the term. In contrast to catastrophism, the idea was initially put forth by a British naturalist in the late 18th century.
A Scottish Geologist and naturalist, James Hutton (1726–1797) was the first to suggest the initial idea or doctrine that would eventually come to be known as uniformitarianism. Looking at his native Scottish landscape, he realized slow processes such as erosion, weathering, sediment transport, and deposition at sea, and subsequent uplift, would, over time, create different structures like catastrophic events.
He believed that the Earth was dynamic and cyclical, and that the erosion, sedimentation, and upheaval of the continents formed a continuous cycle. His arguments suggested that the Earth was extremely old. However, they didn’t get much traction.
Difference Between Uniformitarianism And Catastrophism
The primary difference between uniformitarianism and catastrophe is that they explain changes in the Earth’s crust throughout geological history. Uniformitarianism proposes that the modifications in the Earth’s crust are mostly due to the action of continuous and uniform processes, while catastrophism proposes that the changes in the Earth’s crust are mostly caused by abrupt, dramatic, and uncommon events.
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