How Uniformitarianism Changed Geological Thought

Charles Lyell (1797-1875) and Charles Darwin (1809-1882) were the first to argue against catastrophism. They argued that a slow, gradual change known as Uniformitarianism, a theory of geological processes that states changes in the earth’s surface that occurred in past geologic time, was the cause. In other words, uniformitarianism is a principle asserting that geological processes shaping the Earth today have operated similarly throughout geological history.

Lyell’s Argument

Lyell wrote Principles of Geology (1860) that synthesized four basic components of geology:

• Natural laws are constant in time and space;
• The processes forming the earth now should be used to study how the Earth was formed in the past;
• Geological change is slow and steady;
• The earth has been relatively unchanged since its beginnings.

Lyell argued that the earth is millions of years old, not thousands, so there was no need for cataclysms. While Lyell didn’t deny the occurrence of dramatic events, he minimized their role in favor of slow, cumulative changes. Darwin demonstrated how species were not fixed but modified over time, lending further evidence to the theory of Uniformitarianism.

Atlantis and Lemuria

If either Atlantis or Lemuria had existed, their disappearance would need to be attributed to slow phenomena like continental drift or gradual subsidence—explanations that conflicted with the catastrophic, rapid timelines favored by occultists.

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