James Hutton's concept of time: that of Leibniz, not Newton

Abstract

It is well known that James Hutton's approach to the study of what would later be known as Earth science was significantly influenced by the work of Isaac Newton. But it is hardly appreciated, except perhaps in continental Europe, that Gottfried Leibniz had as much or greater influence on Hutton's ‘natural philosophy’ and even his methods of research and analysis. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the shaping of Hutton's understanding of the nature of time itself.