James Hutton: The Evolutionary Theory Of Evolution

The Evolutionary Theory is a relatively new concept that has not been thoroughly proven until just recently, though the actual development of it ranges back before the 19th century. Before the theory was introduced, Carolus Linnaeus had started a new system for naming specific species- a two name system that further categorizes them based on characteristics; developed in 1735. Then in 1795, James Hutton proposed the concept that the Earth gradually changed over time; a result from changes in climate and ecosystems. Natural Selection plays a large role in the theory of evolution, it is the change that undergoes certain changes in traits of a species in order to secure the survival of its kind. The Natural Selection process was introduced in …show more content…
Of course, back then and still now people believe an authoritative figure, such as God, was the creator of all. As the human knowledge broke through the boundaries of society and the Church, people explored the development of species and looked for an explanation to answer all of their questions about how they had come to be. James Hutton was a Scottish Geologist born in 1726, had developed the uniformitarianism principle. The uniformitarianism principle had determined that the changes on the surface of land were made by a uniform process that was continuous. His discovery had started the thought that the Earth had multiple systems that ran on their own accord, rather than the thought that each movement was dictated and governed by a higher being. “Hutton claimed that the totality of these geologic processes could fully explain the current landforms all over the world, and no biblical explanations were necessary in this regard. Finally, he stated that the processes of erosion, deposition, sedimentation, and upthrusting were cyclical and must have been repeated many times in the Earth’s history.” Hutton had challenged the fundamental belief of society and seeked a better proven theory that the world controls itself. Hutton had died in 1797, before seeing the aftermath of his revolutionary ideas and his friend had edited and published his findings in a book. Thomas Robert Malthus was an economist and demographer born in 1766, he was very influential in his theory that there will never be enough food for everyone. Malthus viewed life very cruelly and believed that some were just not meant to survive. This theory had built the foundation of natural selection. Thomas died in 1834, but he published many works that looked down on those who were poor and how they were naturally not enough resources for the