CATASTROPHISM AND UNIFORMITARIANISM

Philosophies of Catastrophism and Uniformitarianism

Philosophies of Catastrophism and Uniformitarianism

Uniformitarianism, in the philosophy of science, is the assumption that the natural processes in the past are the same as those that can be seen operating at present. Its methodological significance is often given in the statement: "The real key to the past." Uniformitarianism most closely associated with geology, but it is also used in astronomy, paleontology and other sciences, are the objects of study in the past, and (therefore) beyond the reach of direct observation. Uniformitarianism is one of the basic principles of modern geology, the belief that fundamentally ...