UNIFORMITY THEORY: ORIGINS AND PRINCIPLES - SCIENCE - 2026

The uniformism theory explains that the evolution of planet Earth is a constant and repeatable process. Uniformity is a philosophical and scientific proposal, with origins in the Scottish illustration. This theory maintains that the natural processes that have taken place throughout the evolution of the Earth have been uniform, constant and repeatable.

That is, the factors that caused them in the past are identical today and occur with equal intensity. Therefore, they can be studied to understand the passage of time. The term uniformity should not be confused with uniformity.

origins

James Ussher

The first attempt to age the Earth, and hence its events, was made by the Irish Anglican Archbishop James Ussher. The religious published his book The Annals of the World in the year 1650, and to write it he was based on specific fragments of the Bible and on the average of human life.

In this way he sought to estimate a starting point in the history of the planet. The Irishman's theory was accepted as true at that time.

James hutton

Later, James Hutton, a British geologist and naturalist known as the father of modern geology, was the first to actually propose the theory of uniformitarianism, which came into being in the 18th century.

During his trips to the shores of the British Isles, Hutton used to describe and catalog the rocks that he encountered in great detail. In fact, he was the creator of the concept of deep time and the first to decipher the mystery of sedimentation.

The work that brought together most of these studies is the Theory of the Earth, published between 1785 and 1788, and recognized as Hutton's magnum opus. In this, he proposes the theoretical principles, based on evidence collected by him, that would give form and scientific value to uniformism.

These principles affirm that the planet Earth had not been shaped by violent and fast events, but by slow, constant and gradual processes. The same processes that can be seen in action in today's world were responsible for shaping the Earth. For example: wind, weather, and tidal flow.

Principles of Uniformity

The fundamental principles of this theory are:

-The present is the key to the past: events happen at the same speed now that they always have.

-The processes have occurred at a constant frequency throughout natural history. James Hutton explains it in his book Theory of the Earth: "We find no trace of a beginning, no prospect of an end."

-The forces and processes observable on the Earth's surface are the same that have shaped the terrestrial landscape throughout natural history.

-Geological processes, such as erosion, deposition or compaction are constant, although they occur at extremely low speeds.

Uniformity in the scientific community and related theories

Uniformity was widely debated during the 18th and 19th centuries because, among other reasons, it offered a way to logically understand the long natural and geological history of the Earth and accepted change as a normal part of different natural processes.

Although it was never said explicitly, it showed that there could be other ways of understanding the world beyond the faithful and exact interpretation of the Bible.

John Playfair, Charles Lyell and William Whewell

One of the proponents of Hutton's work was John Playfair, a British geologist and mathematician, who in his book Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory of the Earth, published in 1802, makes clear the influence that Hutton had on geological research.

Charles Lyell, Hutton's lawyer, geologist, and compatriot, studied and developed the principles of uniformism extensively based on his research.

On the other hand, William Whewell, a British philosopher and scientist, was the first to coin the term uniformitarianism in the 19th century, despite not agreeing with some of its postulates.

Relationship with actualism and catastrophism

Uniformity is closely related to other theories, such as actualism and catastrophism. With actualism he shares the assertion that past phenomena can be explained on the basis that their causes were the same as those operating today.

And with catastrophism it is linked because it is the direct counterpart of uniformism, because the theory of catastrophism maintains that the Earth, in its origin, had arisen suddenly and catastrophically.

The gradualist current - the belief that change must occur slowly but steadily - is also represented in the studies of Hutton and Lyell, since the principles of uniformitarianism explain that the processes of creation and extinction occur accompanied by geological changes and biological variables that vary in time and magnitude.

Uniformity today

The modern interpretation of uniformism remains fairly true to its original idea, although it admits subtle differences. For example, geologists today agree that the forces of nature work just as they have for millions of years. However, the intensity of these forces can vary widely.

The speed of natural processes is also variable. And although it is known that they have always existed, exist and will exist, even today it is impossible to predict earthquakes, landslides and even floods of great intensity.

Importance of uniformity

It would be impossible to deny the historical importance that uniformitarianism had on the field of geology. Thanks to this theory, it was possible to read the history of the Earth through its rocks, the understanding of the factors that cause floods, the variable in the intensity of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Hutton's geological theories even diminished the influence of such powerful entities as the Catholic Church, because with logical argumentation divine intervention was no longer crucial to explain the mysterious phenomena of nature. Thus, the key to understanding the present was not in the supernatural, but in the past.

Hutton and Lyell were, along with all their proposals and research, a respected source of inspiration for Charles Darwin. Also for his theory of evolution published in The Origin of Species, in 1859.

In this work, seven decades after Hutton published The Theory of the Earth, it was implied that gradual but constant change applies as much to the evolution of species as to the evolution of the planet itself.

References

1. Hutton, J. (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. I
2. BBC Newsroom (2017). James Hutton, the blasphemer who revealed that the truth about Earth was not in the Bible and gave us deep time. BBC World. Rescued from: bbc.com
3. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (1998). Uniformitarianism. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Rescued from britannica.com
4. Thomson, W., 'Lord Kelvin' (1865). The 'Doctrine of Uniformity' in Geology Briefly Refuted. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
5. Vera Torres, JA (1994). Stratigraphy: Principles and methods. Ed. Rueda.