Catastrophism, a term invented by William Whewell in 1832, is a school of thought that stands in antithesis to gradualism (q.v.). Itsproponents claim that the rates of geological and biological processes have in the past differed significantly from current rates, on occasions suddenly and violently assuming magnitudes not seen today and in doing so causing catastrophes.
In the inorganic world, it is expedient to recognize two brands of catastrophism: the old and the new. The old catastrophism was the ruling theory of Earth history before about 1830. It embodied many different ideas, but a common thread running through them was the recognition of one or more global, or nearly global, revolutions in Earth history, usually associated with world-wide floods and the collapse and crumpling of the Earth's crust. As gradualism waned in the middle of the 19th century, so catastrophist views became rather disreputable (Rudwick, 1992). During the present century, catastrophism has made a...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Bibliography
Albritton, C. C., Jr., 1989. Catastrophic Episodes in Earth History. London and New York: Chapman & Hall, 221 pp.
Eldredge, N., and Gould, S. J., 1972. Punctuated equilibria: an alternative to phyletic gradualism. In Schopf, T. J.M. (ed.), Models in Paleobiology. San Francisco, Calif.: Freeman, Cooper, pp. 82–115.
Huggett, R. J., 1989. Cataclysms and Earth History: The Development of Diluvialism. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 220 pp.
Huggett, R. J., 1990. Catastrophism: Systems of Earth History. London: Edward Arnold, 246 pp.
Rudwick, M. J.S., 1992. Darwin and catastrophism. In Bourriau, J. (ed.), Understanding Catastrophe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 57–82.
Zeeman, C., 1992. Evolution and catastrophe theory. In Bourriau, J. (ed.), Understanding Catastrophe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 83–101.
Cross-reference
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1999 Kluwer Academic Publishers
About this entry
Cite this entry
Huggett, R. (1999). Catastrophism. In: Environmental Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4494-1_51
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4494-1_51
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-0-412-74050-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-4494-6
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive