During the Scottish Enlightenment, a period of increased intellectual activity in the 18th and early 19th century, individuals tended to explore multiple disciplines of study (Young, 2016). One prominent Scottish Enlightenment figure was James Hutton, living from 1726 to 1797. During his lifetime he was a lawyer, geologist, chemist, physician, farmer, and naturalist. Hutton, along with other prominent Enlightenment figures, Joseph Black and Adam Smith, founded the Oyster Club. This intellectual club was based in Edinburgh and supplied a venue for where a plethora of ideas from various topics could be discussed (Furniss, 2010). Hutton began his studies in Edinburgh, matriculating into the University of Edinburgh at the age of fourteen in 1740.
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While in Edinburgh, Hutton and student peer, James Davie, performed experiments regarding the production of sal ammoniac, a crystalline salt derived from coal soot. Their experiments lead to possible commercial implications, such as dyeing and metalwork, and together they created a business manufacturing sal ammoniac. The profits from this business allowed Hutton to become financially independent, granting him the freedom to pursue a life of relentless research that would primarily focus on geology (Broadie, 2007). His experimental research lead to the publication of documents, such as Theory of the Earth and manuscript The Elements of Agriculture, that would present controversial and ground breaking ideas for their time. Geology was his true passion and his relentless research lead to the theories known today as uniformitarianism and deep time. At the time of their publication, these geological theories significantly conflicted with the biblical religious beliefs regarding the creation of earth and its geographical …show more content…
To explain the continual process, Hutton’s theory added to the existing understanding of how erosion causes the deterioration of land surfaces. He further postulated there was a cyclic process in which material is eroded, carried into the sea, and then is reconsolidated to eventually encounter erosional forces again. This ideology marked a turning point in geological understanding, as it introduced the idea of a gradual process instead of a sudden catastrophic and theological process. The notion that formations could arise from heat-generated processes within the Earth’s crust, as observed with granite, and that these processes were still occurring was unrecognized prior to Hutton’s theory. Thus, Hutton’s discovery is considered to be a turning point for geology, as his observational research caused the scientific geological interpretations of the Bible to seem irrelevant (Broadie,
While in Edinburgh, Hutton and student peer, James Davie, performed experiments regarding the production of sal ammoniac, a crystalline salt derived from coal soot. Their experiments lead to possible commercial implications, such as dyeing and metalwork, and together they created a business manufacturing sal ammoniac. The profits from this business allowed Hutton to become financially independent, granting him the freedom to pursue a life of relentless research that would primarily focus on geology (Broadie, 2007). His experimental research lead to the publication of documents, such as Theory of the Earth and manuscript The Elements of Agriculture, that would present controversial and ground breaking ideas for their time. Geology was his true passion and his relentless research lead to the theories known today as uniformitarianism and deep time. At the time of their publication, these geological theories significantly conflicted with the biblical religious beliefs regarding the creation of earth and its geographical …show more content…
To explain the continual process, Hutton’s theory added to the existing understanding of how erosion causes the deterioration of land surfaces. He further postulated there was a cyclic process in which material is eroded, carried into the sea, and then is reconsolidated to eventually encounter erosional forces again. This ideology marked a turning point in geological understanding, as it introduced the idea of a gradual process instead of a sudden catastrophic and theological process. The notion that formations could arise from heat-generated processes within the Earth’s crust, as observed with granite, and that these processes were still occurring was unrecognized prior to Hutton’s theory. Thus, Hutton’s discovery is considered to be a turning point for geology, as his observational research caused the scientific geological interpretations of the Bible to seem irrelevant (Broadie,