Final answer:
Uniformitarianism is the doctrine that is summarized by the phrase 'The present is the key to the past' and it is a key concept in Earth History.
Step-by-step explanation:
The doctrine summarized by the phrase 'The present is the key to the past' is Uniformitarianism. Uniformitarianism is the concept that the same natural laws and processes that operate in our present-day scientific observations have always operated in the universe in the past and apply everywhere in the universe. This means that we can study present-day geological processes to understand past geological events and formations.