uniformitarianism
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˌjunɪfɔrˈmɪtəriənˌɪzəm/
- But this is basically just a new form of uniformitarianism, much as the older science of geology had.
- the doctrine of uniformitarianism
- uniformitarianism and evolution
Examples
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Dave, my understanding of uniformitarianism was not that things happen at a uniform pace, but rather that the processes we see active today were also active throughout the past (i.e., the present is not a "special case" in terms of processes).
Blog text (20) -
Much of its facts are based on the idea that the natural laws that are in operation now have always been in operation, aka uniformitarianism.
Blog text (6) -
This is consistent with the principle of uniformitarianism as well as common sense.
Blog text (21) -
The final assumption of the modern world to be identified here is what has been known as "uniformitarianism."
Academic text (1992) -
Geologists applied the uniformitarian principle over billions of years, which is a nearly infinite stretch of time compared with the durations being considered when uniformitarianism was being developed.
Academic text (1990) -
Uniformitarianism is a useful methodology, but in the history of science—and of geology, in particular—this concept was carried to the extreme as a veritable law.
Academic text (1990) -
As modern geology was made possible by uniformitarianism—the principle that the forces governing the physical world have not changed qualitatively—so the novel reflects the discovery that time has always been a sequence of present moments.
Academic text (1993) -
The principle of uniformitarianism suggests that the Earth has been shaped by the same processes over millions of years.
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According to uniformitarianism, the geological features we observe today are the result of consistent natural laws acting over time.
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The theory of uniformitarianism is fundamental in geology, stating that present-day processes can explain past geological events.
Surface Forms
Morphology
uniformitarianism = uniformitarian (semi-transparent) = uniform + itarian + ism
The word is regularly formed from the specialized adjective 'uniformitarian' plus '-ism', but the underlying geological concept is not fully predictable from the root 'uniform' alone.
Etymology
Uniformitarianism comes from uniform ('the same' or 'one form') plus the ending -ism ('belief' or 'system'). Think of a school uniform where everyone looks the same: uniformitarianism is the belief that nature works the same now as it did long ago, so scientists can use today's processes to understand Earth's past.