Timeliness Principle of Charles Lyell

Charles Lyell (born November 14, 1797, † February 22, 1875)

The geologist Charles Lyell is considered the most important co-founder and representative of the principle of topicality. Under the influence of his father, the eponymous botanist Charles Lyell, he initially took a law degree, but was also busy with botany, geology and the general natural sciences. From 1831 Charles Lyell then took over the chair of geology at the University of London.

The principle of actuality (also called actualism or the principle of uniformity) is based on the central assumption that the laws of nature which are valid today have also been valid in the past. Ergo: Certain processes and processes today take place under the same conditions (laws of nature) as millions of years ago. From this, concrete conclusions about the past can be drawn by observing the present alone. For the manifestations resulting from the unchanging laws of nature cause similar / identical products. By means of a simple example this analogy conclusion shall be clarified briefly:

We can observe how islands in the oceans, along the continental plates, are formed by volcanic activity. The actuality principle says now, if we can observe the island formation by volcanoes nowadays, then formed in the same way already several million years ago islands.

Incidentally, the idea of ​​actualism does not originate from Charles Lyell himself, but was represented a few years earlier by James Hutton (read in Theory of the Earth: With Proofs and Illustrations, 1795). Lyell developed the concept further and made with his publications for the announcement.

Charles Lyell's observations and assumptions also influenced Charles Darwin, who took the book 'Principles of Geology' on his world tour with the HMS Beagle and studied intensively. Darwin was able to verify Lyell's views, so he sought contact with Lyell after his voyage. This resulted in a friendly relationship with lively, scientific exchange. Ultimately, actualism also found its way into the theory of evolution, because Darwin felt that his assumptions confirmed that the evolutionary factors (gene drift, mutation, recombination, selection) must have been applied much earlier.

Summary

The actuality principle states that the currently observable laws of nature have been effective in the past.

The terms 'actualism' and 'uniformity principle' are synonyms for the actuality principle.