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Hutton, James, 1726–97,
Scottish geologist, chemist, and naturalist. He was initially attracted to
chemistry; he entered the legal profession at the Univ. of Edinburgh;
turned to medicine, as it closely resembled chemistry; and then became a
farmer to allow him to study rocks and be able to pursue his interests in
geology. He formulated controversial theories of the origin of the earth
and of atmospheric changes that paved the way to modern geological
science. After 1768, he moved to Edinburgh to discuss his ideas with other
scholars including the physician and mathematician John Playfair, and
chemist Joseph Black. Hutton started a controversy by standing against the
popular Neptunists (rocks developed in a great flood) and the Plutonists
(all rocks are of igneous origin) schools, proposing the theory of
uniformity of causes, concluding that the earth's history can be explained
by observing the geological forces now at work, because these forces are
identical to the ones that operated in the past. By studying the Devonian
Old Red Sandstone along the Scotland coast, he discovered that sedimentary
rocks originated from, not a single flood, but a series of successive
floods; noted that the intrusion of igneous rocks were distinct from
sedimentary deposits; recorded the gradual actions of geomorphic
processes; and discussed the lengths of geologic time. His ideas
influenced Charles Lyell's Principles of Geology, which in turn
influenced Charles Darwin's theories of adaptive evolution. Hutton's great
work was The Theory of the Earth (2 vol., 1795; MS fragment for
Vol. III ed. by Archibald Geikie, 1899); it was simplified by John
Playfair as Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory of the Earth
(1802).
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