HSHM 211 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Stratigraphic Column, Abraham Gottlob Werner, Genesis Flood Narrative

• School: Yale University
• Department: Hist of Science, Hist of Med
• Course: HSHM 211
• Professor: William Rankin

Document Summary

Uniformitarianism (as opposed to catastrophism: only forces and events we can assume happened in the past are ones that we see around us today, no catastrophes, boundaries between strata are gaps in data or gradual. Theories explaining the stratigraphic column: erosion vs. uplift: (cid:862)neptunism(cid:863, theory that earth was once covered entirely by water, then the sea level declined/water receded, mountain layer primordial/primary, fossils deposited as water recede. Science and religion in these theories: catastrophism: georges cuvier (1769-1832, established that extinction is real, showed that mammoth and elephant were different species and that mammoth had gone extinct, extinction meant catastrophes occurred, no other explanation. (cid:862)so(cid:373)e ki(cid:374)d of (cid:272)atastrophes(cid:863) likely lo(cid:272)al e(cid:448)e(cid:374)ts: cu(cid:448)ier"s (cid:449)ork tra(cid:374)slated badly into english and embraced by oxford geologist. William buckland: lyell took bu(cid:272)kla(cid:374)d"s (cid:272)lasses, (cid:271)elie(cid:448)ed his approa(cid:272)h (cid:449)as (cid:449)ro(cid:374)g. Wanted to remove geology from biblical business entirely. Just random changes due to climate shifts, underrepresentation of mammals, etc.