[Campbell Biology P.520] How did the geological ideas of Hutton and Lyell influence Darwin's... | Practice Question
How did the geological ideas of Hutton and Lyell influence Darwin's thinking about evolution, contrasting with Cuvier's perspective?
A: Hutton and Lyell's emphasis on catastrophic events led Darwin to believe in sudden biological changes, similar to Cuvier's view.
B: By proposing Earth's features result from slow, continuous processes, Hutton and Lyell convinced Darwin that Earth was much older than previously thought, allowing for gradual biological evolution.
C: Hutton and Lyell's theories, like Cuvier's, suggested that species remained unchanged, which initially made Darwin hesitant about evolution.
D: Darwin's thinking was primarily influenced by Cuvier's idea of species immigration for repopulation, rather than the gradual geological processes of Hutton and Lyell.
Explanation
Hutton and Lyell's uniformitarianism, the idea that the same geological processes operate today as in the past at the same rate, implied an Earth much older than a few thousand years. This vast timeline provided the necessary framework for Darwin's concept of evolution occurring through slow, gradual biological changes, a stark contrast to Cuvier's focus on sudden, catastrophic events causing local extinctions and subsequent repopulation.