Hutton Highlights, May 2020

Contact Tel: +44 (0) 344 928 5428 Fax: + 44 (0) 344 928 5429 info@ h utton.ac.uk www. h utton.ac.uk Contact Tel: +44 (0) 344 928 5428 Fax: +44 (0) 344 928 5429 info@hutton.ac.uk www.hutton.ac.uk Funded by: Ray Perman’s as yet untitled account aims to give a rounder picture of James Hutton than previous biographies; written by geologists mostly about geology. Most use Playfair’s 1803 account of his life as their basis, relying on Playfair’s dates and facts and few try to put him in the context of the Enlightenment. Hutton didn’t think of himself as a geologist and described himself as a natural philosopher seeking to explain the natural world. Perman’s examination of Hutton will add a more empirical and broader perspective to the literature. It’s due for publication by Birlinn ahead of Hutton’s 300th anniversary in 2026. Further new Hutton biography underway