HISTORY OF GEOMORPHOLOGY 2: DEVELOPMENT PERIOD (1669-1850)

43877

This article discusses the history of Geomorphology from the beginning of the Enlightenment to the middle of the 19th century. In this study, the developments and changes in the geomorphology in the age of enlightenment were evaluated by dividing them into various time periods. During this period, very distinct and even dramatic transformations and changes occurred in the thinking structure of Geomorphology. The first ideas about how the world was shaped came about in Egypt, China, and Mesopotamia. Later on, scientific thought emerged in the ancient Greek world, which interacted with these civilizations. The ignored scientific perspective in Europe throughout the Middle Ages continued to exist in the Islamic world. However, the question of how the surface of the Earth is shaped has become the center of attention of European thinkers since the 15th century. The process, which started especially with Copernicus, continued with Da Vinci and continued with Descartes. The Earth Sciences (Geology and geomorphology), as separate branches of science, had their own principles and theories for the first time in 1669 thanks to Nicolaus Steno. The philosophers of the period attempted to systematize, generalize and produce theories based on actual observations. In the early days, under the influence of the Bible, the idea that catastrophic events and processes shaped the surface of the earth was accepted. However, towards the end of the 18th century, a new perspective emerged with James Hutton. Uniformitarianism began to be adopted as an anti-catastrophic movement. Geomorphology, which developed slowly at first, made significant progress towards the mid-19th century with the contributions of Lyell.

567

Geomorphology , Age of Enlightenment , Catastrophism , Uniformitarianism , Hutton , Werner , Lyell

International Journal of Geography and Geography Education

588

International Journal of Geography and Geography Education