Uniformitarianism

See also

Actualism

Catastrophism

Naturalism

Brief notes

Uniformitarianism is the idea that 'the present is the key to the past'. This means that we can use our observation, measurement, and understanding of today's processes and landscapes to identify those same processes and landscapes in the past.

Originally it meant 'gradualism' - the idea that everything formed very slowly and gradually. It was in opposition to catastrophism (which did not, contrary to creationists' claims, necessarily mean the biblical Flood). Now it could be described as 'actualism'.

Creationists tend to use 'uniformitarianism' as if it still meant gradualism and then claim that geologists use uniformitarianism (meant in the gradualist sense that it no longer means) but switch to catastrophism when it suits them. This is inaccurate.

Resources

Claim CD200: Uniformitarian assumption is untenable

Brief response in the Index to Creationist Claims in the TalkOrigins Archive.