Charles Darwin

Charles Robert Darwin was born on February 12,1809 in Shrewsbury England and died on April 19, 1882 in the Kentish village of Downe.

Charles Darwin came from a well off family that had come out strongly from the Industrial Revolution. Through Charles Darwin’s innovations, a scientific revolution was created, he was able to take information that was blatantly clear and turn it into a new idea. Darwin was sent to school to become an Anglican clergyman due to the fact that he had no obvious talent, he then began to gravitate towards science and the scientific professors (Hesketh, 22). In this time, science was not taught so formally at these Christian Central Universities. (Ruse, 16). Darwin grew up in a time that strictly believed in the almighty God, furthermore disproving the notion that people could have been created in a way other than religiously (Cape, 27). Darwin began his science career by aiming his questions towards geology before his immense success as a biologist. Darwin had a strong devotion to the idea of climate theory which later helped in developing all the topics that he studied in the future. (Stone, 103). The most notable finding that furthermore changed Charles Darwin’s aspects on science was when he took a visit to the Galapagos Island. Upon returning from this trip Charles Darwin’s findings took a pivotal turn towards a concept of evolution (Hesketh, 17). Darwin reviewed his findings from the Galapagos island’s and came to a conclusion that the only way in which these animals could have survived was through evolving as they moved from island to island (Ruse, 21).

Darwinism and the ‘Origin of Species’ had a big impact on many different aspects of study, such as philosophy, religion and especially science. Many people throughout Darwin’s discovery had fallen victim to misconstruing the ideas and concepts that were introduced, most prevalent to religion (Ruse, 42). The theory of evolution has affected and are still very controversial within the religious communities. A notable piece work that helped in overall exemplifying some of the issues brought upon by these new scientific ideas was Inherit the Wind. This play fully encompassed the arguments in which a very religious town have with a teacher who feels as though he is given the right to talk about the theories of evolution (Stone, 67). Despite the fact that this was a fictional storyline, it fully encompasses the realities that much of the world was experiencing after Darwin’s discoveries and theories (Ruse, 55). It has been agreed that these theories would not have had as big of an impact as they did if it was not for the fact that the ideas were supported by other highly respected scientists. Many of these scientists helped in challenging the religious narratives of the development of animals, people, and the earth as a whole (Hesketh, 11). Although, the theories of evolution had lots that could be disputed against, the new ideas that came with it were enough to challenge religion and especially put the Bible under scrutiny (Stone, 39). Through Charles Darwin’s ideas of evolution, philosophy, science as a whole and the future of religion were all up for question.

 

Many reviews and opinions were made disagreeing or supporting the ‘Origin of Species’. Present day, even after the death of Charles Darwin, these same opposing views are argued (Cape, 4). The concept of natural selection was an astounding discovery due to the fact that in a time of no science and all religion, a contradictory an idea of evolution and adaptation was created and made sense to scientists. Rephrasing one of Charles Darwin’s most notorious quotes, it is not the strongest or smartest that survive, but the one who responds the best to change.

Emily Srebot

Works Cited

Cape, Jonathan. Evolution, Old & New. Eleven Gower Sreet, 1921.
Hesketh, Ian. Of Apes and Ancestors: Evolution, Christianity, and the Oxford debate. Toronto:

University of Toronto Press, 2009.
Ruse, Michael. Charles Darwin. Blackwell Publishing, 2008.
Ruse, Michael. Philosophy after Darwin: classic and contemporary readings. Princeton:

Princeton University Press, 2009.
Robert, Ryan M. Charles Darwin and the Church of Woodsworth. Oxford University Press, 2016 Stone, Irving. The Origin: A Biographical Novel of Charles Darwin. Garden City, New York:

Doubleday & Company, 1980.

Social Darwinism

Social Darwinism is based on Charles Darwin’s law of Natural Selection, which was first mentioned in his book The Origin of Species which was published in 1859. The law of Natural Selection coined the term “Survival of the Fittest”, which says that only those who are best suited, both physically and mentally, to their environment will live long enough to pass on their genes. Darwin used this to explain the diversity within animals and how qualities were developed, also the reasons that some genes die off. Social Darwinism was developed in 1864, by a group of people who wanted to view society the same way as Darwin viewed the animal world. Originally, Social Darwinism was used to support the idea of a Laissez Fair economy and warn against government interference in the marketplace since it encourages individual competition. Though as time progressed, racists, imperialist and eugenist used Social Darwinism to justify segregation and discrimination between two parties, as one was viewed as better. In the late 19^th century, eugenist saw the rich as being the “fit” and the poor as being “unfit”, the eugenist believed that disease, poverty and crime were largely due to hereditary traits.  The eugenist used this theory to limit the reproduction in the lower social classes. It is important to note, that while Social Darwinism originated in England, it had the biggest impact in Germany. The idea of Social Darwinism quickly became a welcomed theory amongst the German intellectuals. Social Darwinism was important in the formation of Nazi ideology in Germany, as it allowed for people rationalise targeting the Jewish people. In Mishra’s novel Age of Anger, he mentions that Non-Western men and women that had been educated in a Western style learning environment, believed in Social Darwinism, because they were obsessed with finding independence and power in a world full of powerful nations. Social Darwinism originated as a way to encourage free-market economies and limiting government interference in the market. Though as the power imbalance, both globally and domestically grew, Social Darwinism was used to justify the segregation of certain people due to “unfavourable traits” such as culture, race, or economic standing.

Tanya Hodkinson

 

Bibliography

Halliday, R. J. “Social Darwinism: A Definition.” Victorian Studies, vol. 14, no. 4, 1971, pp. 389– 405. JSTOR, JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3825958.

Rogers, James Allen. “Darwinism and Social Darwinism.” Journal of the History of Ideas, vol. 33, no. 2, 1972, pp. 265–280. JSTOR, JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2708873.

Simpson, George E. “Darwin and ‘Social Darwinism.’” The Antioch Review, vol. 19, no. 1, 1959, pp. 33– 45. JSTOR, JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4610123.

Weikart, Richard. “The Origins of Social Darwinism in Germany, 1859-1895.” Journal of the History of Ideas, vol. 54, no. 3, 1993, pp. 469–488. JSTOR, JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2710024.

Wells, D. Collin. “Social Darwinism.” American Journal of Sociology, vol. 12, no. 5, 1907, pp. 695– 716. JSTOR, JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2762378.