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''Principles of Geology: Being an Attempt to Explain the Former Changes of the Earth's Surface, by Reference to Causes Now in Operation'' is a book by the Scottish geologist
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 ...
that was first published in 3 volumes from 1830–1833. Lyell used the theory of
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 ...
to describe how the Earth's surface was changing over time. This theory was in direct contrast to the geological theory of
catastrophism In geology, catastrophism theorises that the Earth has largely been shaped by sudden, short-lived, violent events, possibly worldwide in scope. This contrasts with uniformitarianism (sometimes called gradualism), according to which slow incremen ...
. Many individuals believed in catastrophism to allow room for religious beliefs. For example, the
Genesis flood narrative The Genesis flood narrative (chapters 6–9 of the Book of Genesis) is the Hebrew version of the universal flood myth. It tells of God's decision to return the universe to its pre- creation state of watery chaos and remake it through the micr ...
could be described as a real geological event as catastrophism describes the changing of the Earth surface as one-time, violent events. Lyell challenged the believers of the catastrophic theory by studying
Mount Etna Mount Etna, or simply Etna ( it, Etna or ; scn, Muncibbeḍḍu or ; la, Aetna; grc, Αἴτνα and ), is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Catania, between the cities of Messina ...
in Sicily and describing the changes from one
stratum In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as e ...
to another and the fossil records within the rocks to prove that slow, gradual changes were the cause of the ever-changing Earth's surface. Lyell used geological proof to determine that the Earth was older than 6,000 years, as had been previously contested. The book shows that the processes that are occurring in the present are the same processes that occurred in the past.


Book

Published in three volumes in 1830–1833 by John Murray, the book established Lyell's credentials as an important geological theorist and popularized the doctrine of
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 ...
(first suggested 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 ...
in '' Theory of the Earth'' published in 1795). The central argument in ''Principles'' was that "the present is the key to the past": that geological remains from the distant past could, and should, be explained by reference to geological processes now in operation and thus directly observable. The book is notable for being one of the first to use the term "
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 ...
" in the context of biological speciation. In Lyell's work, he described the three rules he believes to cause the steady change of the Earth. The first rule is that geologic change comes from slow and continual procedures that have been happening over a long period of time. This rule is the basic ideal of Uniformitarianism and is easy to understand why this was a rule. The second rule is that all the forces that affect the geology of the Earth comes from the Earth. The third rule is that celestial cycles do not impact the patterns of Earth's geologic record. Rule two and rule three go together because Lyell thought that only forces on the Earth cause changes to Earth's geology, and nothing else. Volume 1 introduces Lyell's theory of uniformitarianism. He develops and argues that the earthly processes that we see in the present were the same processes as in the past and caused the Earth to look like it does today. This volume is what Darwin took with him on his voyage on the ''Beagle''. Volume 2 builds off of the uniformitarianism theory in volume 1, but focuses more on the organic matter rather than the inorganic matter. In the 3rd volume, Lyell identifies four periods of the Tertiary: Newer Pliocene, Older Pliocene, Miocene, and the Eocene. Lyell used deposits and fossils from these periods to argue for uniformity during the Tertiary. This also talks about the grammar or syntax of the processes that occurred in the past in today's language.


Influence

Lyell's interpretation of geologic change as the steady accumulation of minute changes over enormously long spans of time, a central theme in the ''Principles'', influenced the 22-year-old
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 ...
, who was given the first volume of the first edition by Robert FitzRoy, captain of HMS ''Beagle'', just before they set out (December 1831) on the ship's second voyage. On their first stop ashore at
St Jago Santiago ( Portuguese for “Saint James”) is the largest island of Cape Verde, its most important agricultural centre and home to half the nation's population. Part of the Sotavento Islands, it lies between the islands of Maio ( to the east ...
, Darwin found rock formations which—seen "through Lyell's eyes"—gave him a revolutionary insight into the geological history of the island, an insight he applied throughout his travels. While in South America, Darwin received the second volume, which rejected the idea of organic evolution, proposing "Centres of Creation" to explain diversity and territory of species. Darwin's ideas gradually moved beyond this, but in geology he operated very much as Lyell's disciple and sent home extensive evidence and theorizing supporting Lyell's uniformitarianism, including Darwin's ideas about the formation of
atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gro ...
s.


Criticism

Charles Lyell's ''Principles of Geology'' was met with a lot of criticism when it was first published. The main argument against Lyell is that he took an ''
a priori ("from the earlier") and ("from the later") are Latin phrases used in philosophy to distinguish types of knowledge, justification, or argument by their reliance on empirical evidence or experience. knowledge is independent from current ex ...
'' approach in his work. This means that Lyell was pulling from a theoretical idea instead of pulling from empirical evidence to explain what was occurring in the geological world. One opponent of ''Principles of Geology'' that agreed with this point was
Adam Sedgwick Adam Sedgwick (; 22 March 1785 – 27 January 1873) was a British geologist and Anglican priest, one of the founders of modern geology. He proposed the Cambrian and Devonian period of the geological timescale. Based on work which he did on ...
. This opposition from Sedgwick comes from his thinking that evidence is all that is needed to support an idea, and that the evidence of geologic events points to a catastrophic event. The criticism of Lyell and his work continued into the 20th century. These arguments agreed with the ''a priori'' argument, but continued on to say that Lyell combined the empirical evidence with the scientific explanation of geology that was accepted at the time. The ''a priori'' argument is not the only argument that Lyell faced for his work. In 1812,
Baron Georges Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier was a major figure in na ...
argued against uniformitarianism with the results of his study of the Paris Basin. Cuvier and his colleagues found long periods of consistent change with intermittent patterns of sudden fossil disappearance in the geologic record for the area, which is now known as
mass extinction An extinction event (also known as a mass extinction or biotic crisis) is a widespread and rapid decrease in the biodiversity on Earth. Such an event is identified by a sharp change in the diversity and abundance of multicellular organisms. I ...
. Cuvier explained these sudden changes in the geologic record with catastrophic forces. Lyell responded to this argument, stating that the geologic record was "grossly imperfect" and that observations cannot be trusted if they go against "the plan of Nature". In recent years, geologists have begun to question the laws of uniformitarianism Lyell laid out. There is now clear evidence of catastrophic change caused by volcanic eruptions, large earthquakes, and asteroid impacts. Moreover, there is evidence that certain cataclysmic occurrences that left marks in the geological and fossil records may correspond to the periodicity of the
Solar System The Solar System Capitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar ...
's 26-million-year cycle of movement around the galactic core of the
Milky Way The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye. ...
. Even if catastrophes are rare, their magnitude may affect geology more than has been appreciated under Lyell's version of uniformitarianism.


Bibliography

* 1st edition, London: John Murray
Vol 1
Jan. 1830
Vol 2
Jan. 1832
Vol 3
May 1833 * 2nd edition, London: John Murray. Vol 1, 1832 - Vol 2, Jan. 1833 * 3rd edition, 4 vols. London: John Murray. May 1834 * 4th edition, 3 vols. London: John Murray, 1835
Vol 1

Vol 2

Vol 3
* 5th edition, 4 vols. London: John Murray, 1837
Vol 1

Vol 2

Vol 3

Vol 4
* 6th edition, 3 vols. June 1840 * 7th edition, 1 vol. Feb. 1847 * 8th edition, 1 vol. May 1850
9th edition
1 vol. 1853 * 10th edition, 2 vols. 1866–68 * 11th edition, 2 vols. 1872 * 12th edition, 2 vols. 1875
Vol 1

Vol 2
(published posthumously)


References


External links


''Principles of Geology''
(7th edition, 1847) - full digital facsimile from Linda Hall Library
''Principles of Geology, Volume 1 Description''
* {{Authority control 1830 non-fiction books Geology textbooks 1830s in science he:גאולוגיה#עקרונות יסוד בגאולוגיה