Acceptance of Geological Theories
It has been claimed that the prose of Principles of Knowledge was so obscure that it also impeded the acceptance of Hutton's geological theories. Restatements of his geological ideas (though not his thoughts on evolution) by John Playfair in 1802 and then Charles Lyell in the 1830s popularised the concept of an infinitely repeating cycle, though Lyell tended to dismiss Hutton's views as giving too much credence to catastrophic changes.
Lyell's books had widespread influence, not least on the up and coming young geologist Charles Darwin who read them with enthusiasm during his voyage on the Beagle, and has been described as Lyell's first disciple. In a comment on the arguments of the 1830s, William Whewell coined the term uniformitarianism to describe Lyell's version of the ideas, contrasted with the catastrophism of those who supported the early 19th century concept that geological ages recorded a series of catastrophes followed by repopulation by a new range of species. Over time there was a convergence in views, but Lyell's description of the development of geological ideas led to wide belief that uniformitarianism had triumphed.
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