''Theory of the Earth'' was a publication by

James Hutton James Hutton (; 3 June O.S.172614 June 1726 New Style. – 26 March 1797) was a Scottish geologist, agriculturalist, chemical manufacturer, naturalist and physician. Often referred to as the father of modern geology, he played a key role i ...

which laid the foundations for

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

. In it he showed that the Earth is the product of natural forces. What could be seen happening today, over long periods of time, could produce what we see in the rocks. It also hypothesized that the

age of the Earth The age of Earth is estimated to be 4.54 ± 0.05 billion years This age may represent the age of Earth's accretion, or core formation, or of the material from which Earth formed. This dating is based on evidence from radiometric age-dating of ...

was much older than what biblical literalists claim.Gribbin, John. ''The Scientists: A History of Science Told Through the Lives of Its Greatest Inventors''. New York, Random House, 2002. p. 315. This idea,

uniformitarianism Uniformitarianism, also known as the Doctrine of Uniformity or the Uniformitarian Principle, is the assumption that the same natural laws and processes that operate in our present-day scientific observations have always operated in the universe in ...

, was used by

Charles Lyell Sir Charles Lyell, 1st Baronet, (14 November 1797 – 22 February 1875) was a Scottish geologist who demonstrated the power of known natural causes in explaining the earth's history. He is best known as the author of ''Principles of Geolo ...

in his work, and Lyell's textbook was an important influence on

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

. The work was first published in 1788 by the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

, and later in 1795 as two book volumes. Hutton recognized that rocks record the evidence of the past action of processes which still operate today. He also anticipated

natural selection Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the heritable traits characteristic of a population over generations. Charle ...

, as follows: "Those which depart most from the best adapted constitution, will be the most liable to perish, while, on the other hand, those organised bodies, which most approach to the best constitution for the present circumstances, will be best adapted to continue, in preserving themselves and multiplying the individuals of their race".

History

Hutton's

prose Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the f ...

hindered his theories. They were not taken seriously until 1802, when Edinburgh University mathematics professor

John Playfair John Playfair FRSE, FRS (10 March 1748 – 20 July 1819) was a Church of Scotland minister, remembered as a scientist and mathematician, and a professor of natural philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. He is best known for his book ''Illu ...

restated Hutton's geological ideas in clearer, much simpler English. However, he left out Hutton's thoughts on

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

.Playfair, John 1802. ''Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory of the Earth''. Edinburgh. Playfair added an important observation of his own: that

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...

s can transport great quantities of rock.

in the 1830s popularised the idea of an infinitely repeating cycle (of the

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...

of rocks and the building up of

sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand an ...

). Lyell believed in gradual change, and thought even Hutton gave too much credit to catastrophic changes. Hutton's work was published in different forms and stages: #1788. Theory of the Earth; or an investigation of the laws observable in the composition, dissolution, and restoration of land upon the Globe. ''Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh'', vol. 1, Part 2, pp. 209–304. #1795. ''Theory of the Earth; with proofs and illustrations''. 2 vols, Edinburgh: Creech. #1899. ''Theory of the Earth; with proofs and illustrations, vol III''. Edited by Sir Archibald Geikie. Geological Society, Burlington House, London.

References

External links

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''Theory of the Earth''
(1795, vol. 1) *
''Theory of the Earth''
(1795, vol. 2) Geology books 1788 non-fiction books 1795 non-fiction books 1899 non-fiction books 1788 in science English-language books English non-fiction books Royal Society of Edinburgh {{Geology-book-stub