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Show 159 :ombination of catastrophe and uniformity to explain the creation )f the earth, and so did Muir. His own fusion of the two /iewpoints reveals the way he attempted to form a coherent theory of natural history. In fact, Muir's method of geological study was created by Lyell, and revised by Agassiz's introduction of the glacier as a major geological agent. One can see the source of geological confusion when one realizes that Lyell's concept of uniformity intertwined methodological and substantive, or cosmic statements, some of which were accepted by Agassiz and the Catastrophists. There were few geologists who took an absolute stand on these issues. Lyell's theory of uniformity required first of all that "Natural laws are constant (uniform) in space and time." This was a cornerstone of Muir's philosophy, and he expressed it not only in geological terms, but by appealing to Linnaeus, the botanist: Linnaeus says Nature never leaps, which means that God never shouts or spouts or speaks incoherently. The rocks and sublime canyons, the waters and winds, and all life structures - animals and ouzels, meadows and groves, and all the silver stars - are words of God, and they flow smooth and ripe from his lips. He saw that this was not a theory about geology alone, but was basic to his conception of natural history as a whole. Lyell had articulated this component of the theory of uniformity as a defense of science against the intrusion of theological dogma. !ff for instance, the world was created by miraculous means |