The current consensus is that Earth's history is a slow, gradual process punctuated by occasional natural catastrophic events that have affected Earth and its inhabitants. In practice it is reduced from Lyell's conflation, or blending, to simply the two philosophical assumptions. This is also known as the principle of geological actualism, which states that all past geological action was like all present geological action. The principle of actualism is the cornerstone of paleoecology. Social sciences Uniformitarianism has also been applied in historical linguistics, where it is considered a foundational principle of the field. Linguist Donald Ringe gives the following definition: See also Conservation law Noether's theorem Law of universal gravitation Astronomical spectroscopy Cosmological principle History of paleontology Paradigm shift Physical constant Physical cosmology Scientific consensus Time-variation of fundamental constants Notes References Web External links Uniformitarianism at Physical Geography Have physical constants changed with time? Metatheory of science Evolution Geological history of Earth History of Earth science Epistemology of science