NEPTUNISM: NOT A BAD IDEA

Neptunism is a label that was attached to the idea that some substantial portion of earth’s crust had a watery origin. Neptunism is an idea that has received bad press from some outstanding geologists and others; versions of neptunistic ideas also had a lot of support from leading figures in the history of the earth sciences. Most often associated Abraham Gottlob Werner, neptunistic ideas flourished through much of the eighteenth and early nineteenth century and, depending on how these ideas are defined, they lasted considerably longer. I will argue that neptunism, a term that is often applied anachronistically and very loosely, suffered the fate of being associated with preconceived ideas, narrowly understood biblical diluvialism, and an all-ecompassing cosmogony. To be sure, some supporters of neptunism had metaphysical commitments, as did many of the opponents of neptunism. Neptunistic ideas made better sense of some of the paleontological evidence than some of the alternatives and, in some versions at least, were more attuned to prevailing ideas and practices in chemistry.