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“Principles of Geology” by Charles Lyell

Introduction to artifact and the author

Principles of geology is a comprehensive artifact which has inclusively explains the geological changes which were occurring in the when our earth was very young, which are now in operation and still altering at a rapid pace. Charles Lyell, a Scottish geologist, wrote this masterpiece and was published in three volumes from 1830-1833 (Browne, 2002, pp.198-218).

Charles Lyell after writing this book became a well known geologist and theorist. The main objective was to highlight the doctrine of uniformitarianism and he succeeded in doing so. uniformitarianism was first explained and prop0osed by James Hutton. The main theme behind the phenomenon of uniformitarianism is that the present is the key to the past. This indicates that the geological remains buried under today's earth can explain the geological processes which are taking place and which have taken place in the past (Lyell, 1830).

What caused Lyell to write this book?

The geological changes that have been taking place continuously over the time are the central idea of the explanation of Lyell. This also has influenced the work of Charles Darwin. The setting of the whole book's beginning started when the first volume of the book was given to Charles Darwin by Robert FitzRoy, who was the captain of HMS Beagle (Burkhardt, & Smith, 1982, pp.173-181). When their voyage paused at St. Jago, there Darwin found the formations of rocks which have been depicted by Lyell in his book and have been explained as a revolution for the island's geological history. This depiction and explanation was just an insight of Lyell's observation which he saw through the whole journey (Lyell, 1832).

The main theme

The proposal of organic evolution was rejected in the second volume of this work. The organic evolution proposed the centers of creation, explaining the assortment and region of the species. Darwin had an idea beyond this, but the main thing is that when it comes to geology, he was a sincere follower of Lyell and supported Lyell's uniformitarianism with many solid evidences. The main reason due to which Lyell turned his thoughts and ideas in the form of a book were the rapid geological changes (Lyell, 1830).

The happening and the making of the book

Lyell's interest in geological sciences first developed when he was in his college life started geological research work when he passed out and then dedicated his whole life to the writings of geology (Holmes, 1945, pp.34-76). He successfully reached to a position of foreign secretary of Geological society while his theories, principals and works were being published. His point of view towards the young rocks and their formation turned when he was shown the Paris basin by Constant Prevost (Lyell, 1833).

Theories supported and explained in the artifact

Principles of Geology is a book written by Charles Lyell stating that the Earth was not created as we see, in final form, but it was constantly subject to change. But if this was true for the ...