The British naturalist James Hutton (1726-1797) is known among geologists. Even though, his works dealt with diverse areas of thought which were called Natural Philosophy and Moral Philosophy in the eighteenth century. This paper analyses relations between his natural and moral studies. It rejects common ideas that this author was a theoretical thinker and unaware of practical questions. It shows that his chemical explanations were strategic in building his thought and above all his geological doctrine.
History of geology; Philosophy of geology; History of sciences; James Hutton (1726-1797)