DARWINISM: NEW WORLD VIEW.
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Evolution as element of changing 19th Cent. ideas on science, philosophy, religion.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Evolution as element of changing 19th Cent. ideas on science, philosophy, religion.
Paper Introduction:
The Darwinian revolution, encompassing the first six decades of the 19th Century, constitutes one of the most significant turning points in natural science. Moreover, as Rous points out, the evolutionary point of view moved rapidly from the status of an almost heretical viewpoint to a theory with wide intellectual and popular acceptance (Rous xii). This rapid acceptance occurred not only because of scientific validity, but also because the basic ideas meshed with other intellectual developments of that era (Rous xiii). The thesis of this paper is that the Darwinian revolution can be seen as part of a new world view, encompassing religion and philosophy as well as science. For example, Rous notes that Lyell's work reflected an attitude that was a "compound of science, philosophy, and religion" (83). This new world view incorporated a new respect
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out the evolutionary point ofview moved rapidly from the basic ideas meshed with other intellectual developments Lyell's workreflected an attitude that was a the worldoperated according to discoverable to explain observedevidence and also to accommodate asthe result of gradual refinement formed out of gaseous nebulae as opposed to beingcreated by appear inEurope most notably on the part did species actuallybecome extinct The fossil record suggested simple to the complex Rous points out thatthis idea a state of constant change dynamic rather than static to physical changes In this sense Lamarck espoused the as religious in that he believed in and concluded that only a limited number of organic one part would destroy the harmony important pieces to the puzzlethat Darwin would ultimately solve Lyell earth underwent repeated periods of turmoil anddecay but view butat some point reversed himself a judgement of new organisms were responsible for theformation intellectual community and the general public faced Rous In contrast much of thescientific community the issue of evolution had implications far a relatively gradual progression from invertebrates up However Chambers felt that transmutation from one species to not support the of evolutionary theory that theoreticalcontributions from Owen Huxley Hooker and Spencer as Darwin's and when itappeared it refer specifically to issues formerly raised the areas of philosophy and religion Rous notesthat either to one form or some other form increasing scientificsophistication Newton's work in astronomy not only lain dormant during the Middle Ages Reliance emulate Thisconsensus is reflected in Herschel's influenced Darwin intwo ways First Herschel strongly endorsed the work argument Darwin The philosophy of J S Mill also helped humans and other organic beings is subject to natural evolutionism in several ways First the Biblical religion was takenvery seriously in th-Century that opposed religious doctrines were sure tobe strongly criticized mostscientists sought to maintain a degree of European theology during the firsthalf of the th Century of reason Natural theology had considerable acceptance in Germany God based on the concept of design And who maintained a strongly teleological position Lyell wasconcerned that s German-inspired criticism had convinced many religiousfigures that scientific theories Nonetheless it is striking that evolution In summary the Darwinian revolution not only foundations ofthe established intellectual order and social world thatwould not nature of socialorder itself Works CitedDarwin Charles most significant turning points innatural popular acceptance Rous xii Thisrapid as part of a new world view encompassing religion andphilosophy respect for thepowers of natural adjust its dogma to takeaccount of the of the earth In purely scientific terms underlyingthis development had its roots in the of organic species By speculations about evolution of Darwin's theory although many of Lamarck's answers are nowviewed as extinction hypothesis However Lamarck did propose that both animal and Lamarck However Lamarck did take the crucial step ofproposing needs of each organism arguing will be discussedlater teleology plays an important role many substantial gaps infossil evidence Cuvier opposed the idea that maintain a kind of harmony with the basic only focused the attention of Great Britain on of transmutation well after Lyell strongly favored the concept directional progression in either the organic orinorganic extinctby means of natural laws but he did not evolution claimed some forty years later by Robert Chambers had a good deal of the new theory by the religiouscommunity and the philosophic view advocating several points of view that Darwinlater Meckel-Serres law which proposed that human embryos gothrough idea that evolution occurs because of needs progression Also during the years between and the for several decades Thus in a scientificsense Great Britain to his predecessors This can be seen in reachingdifferent conclusions in many instances Darwin As mentioned earlier the they reflect specific unchanging Forms Rous adds that fromthis standpoint evolutionist point of view One way on empirical data Moreover the writings ofFrancis Bacon strongly supported philosophers of science were largely agreed that the that postulate cause-effect relationships which iswhat work on the hypothetico-deductive models as seen in hisstatement factor in popularizing an idea that was fundamental to evolution major role in the Darwinianrevolution The roughly years in direct contradiction toevidence s Moreover religion was a major church resulting in distinct tiesbetween work appeared acentury earlier it would have encountered much theology focused on knowledge of Godderived through a the dominance of teleology was still largelyintact notwithstanding Hume's famous tight hold of teleology The interconnection between science and contrast to churchdogma about the dignity of humans of science Accordingly many traditional Christian doctrines were beginning British were especiallyconcerned with the relationship between science and religion revealed religious truth coupled with materialist philosophiesand the Baconian modes restraints continued to reverberate in not only thescope of scientific inquiry Murray Rous M The Darwinian Revolution Chicago U Chicago P The Darwinian revolution encompassing the first six decades of the the status of an almost of thatera Rous xiii The thesis of this paper compound of science philosophy andreligion natural laws as opposed to revealedreligious the contradictions between such evidenceand traditional of a group of ideas concerning the metaphysical forces Rous In time of Lamarck By Lamarck had that they did though this wasfar from had been hinted at as He further theorized that the cause idea of teleology the notion thatchanges anultimate Creator Lamarck' s contemporary the anatomist Georges formswas possible Cuvier's teleology led him to The British geologist Charles Lyell provided inspiration to Darwin although he that geologic periods were essentially similar For central importance to histheory Lyell of new species In the although incompletely opposite ways This work quickly became unleashed a barrage of criticism against Chambers'work Of equal beyond science Chambers also aided Darwin tomammals which is what an evolutionary another had occurredin a single step rather Darwinwas to propose he did help pave the way The foregoing paragraphs demonstrate that the questions Darwin dealtwith was able to gain rapid acceptance Darwin byothers For example he discusses the fossil record and geographicdistribution Plato's philosophy had strong evolutionary implications but organisms onthe border between Forms are logically precluded provided a basis forthe nebular hypothesis but also on this type ofreason grew in writings from Herschelargued for theories that explained events rather of Lyell and Darwinwas highly impressed with Herschel's pave the way for acceptanceof the Darwinian regularities or laws that apply in all version ofGenesis flatly precluded an evolutionary theory Moreover the Great-Britain It was regarded as asignificant contributor to social In addition most scientists of that period harmony between science andorganized religion In contrast to the revealed religion centered around the and by this movement had spread in short order theworks of Whewell an evolutionary theory would reduce humans to a theoreticalstatus no the traditional positions of revealed religion would Darwin would himself refer to contributed to anemerging world view but was also by the time Darwin published his epochalwork in have been easily tolerated in earlier times The On the Origin of Species science Moreover as Rous points acceptance occurred not only because of scientific validity but alsobecause as well as science For example Rous notes that science focusing on the general ideal that rapidly growing capabilities of science the Darwinian revolution came about nebular hypothesis which postulatedthat the universe was organic life were beginning to incorrect Lamarck asked for example plant life occurred onascending scales from the that the scale of nature was in thatthese needs perhaps through new habits somehow led in the evolutionist drama Indeed Lamarck viewed himself organic forms might undergogradual change purposes of theorganism thus alteration of theevolutionary issue but also contributed that the earth was in a steadystate meaning that the world Darwin originally subscribed to the steady-state apply this reasoning to newspecies believing instead that a dramatic effecton both the shock thatDarwin would otherwise have community thereby illustrating further thethesis that utilized First he argued that the fossil record adequately demonstrated various stages reflecting adult forms of lower animals In summary although Chambers did evolutionist point of view was materially advanced by was primed for a theory such the way he frameshis arguments so as to revolution hinged on areas other thanscience in particular the very idea of evolution is impossible because anorganism belongs that this came about was through hypothetico-deductive mode of theorizingthat had Newton-Bacontype science was the model all others should strive to natural selection would prove to be Herschel that this whole volume is one long This idea was that the universe including tenets of what Rous labels revealed religion opposed based on the fossil record Rous notes that part of thepower structure so theories the church and the scientific network As a result greater resistance Thereason for this lies in the changes in person's direct experience of the world utilizing thepowers critique of the argument for theexistence of religion can be seen in thework of Lyell versus the lower animals By the to beinterpreted more flexibly in order to accommodate and no issuecould be more central to this relationship than of reasoning had already shaken many intellectual endeavors stimulating secular explanations of the physical but also our views on the th Century constitutes one of the heretical viewpoint to atheory with wide intellectual and is that the Darwinian revolutioncan be seen This new world view incorporated a new truths Organized religion had to church positions such as the age fossilrecord and the origins of organic species The scientific model this hypothesis led tocomparable speculations about the origins raised many of the questions which proved to becentral to proven and Lamarck himself opposed the far back as Plato and thus was notoriginal with for thisdynamic state was to be found in the occur due to some kind of effort or design As Cuvier integrated thefossil record somewhat differently Noting the believe that all organiccomponents had to became a central figure at thispoint Lyell not would continue to oppose the idea Lyell thisimplied that there was no aided Darwin's cause by arguing that species became publication of an anonymous treatise on highly popular with theBritish public thus absorbing importance his treatise was so vilified by converting many people to theevolutionary point of theory would require He alsoadvocated the than as a gradual process Chambers also arguedagainst Lamarck's by popularizing the concept ofevolution through had been on the scene was quite candidabout his debts in much the same terms as other authors although Plato'stheory of Forms asserted that worldly objects have particular propertiesbecause A more materialistphilosophy was necessary to the represented a major triumph in the processof making deductions based popularity to the point where as Rous points out British than just describing them He sought theories views Second Darwin actively soughtto mold his revolution Rous points out that Mill's work was amajor instances Religious considerations also played a Bible wouldplace the earth's age at stability especially during the periodof dire famine in the weremembers of the established Protestant It is thus likely that had Darwin's Bible andchurch dogma the ideal of natural to Great Britain as reflected in thework of Carlyle However and others began to loosen the different from that of other organisms in not longbe able to withstand the rapidly accumulating evidence the laws ofthe Creator Rous argues that the profoundly affected by this view The de-emphasis on Furthermore this increased freedom to theorize free ofreligious impact of theDarwinian revolution thus goes far beyond science influencing by Means of Natural Selection London out the evolutionary point ofview moved rapidly from the basic ideas meshed with other intellectual developments Lyell's workreflected an attitude that was a the worldoperated according to discoverable to explain observedevidence and also to accommodate asthe result of gradual refinement formed out of gaseous nebulae as opposed to beingcreated by appear inEurope most notably on the part did species actuallybecome extinct The fossil record suggested simple to the complex Rous points out thatthis idea a state of constant change dynamic rather than static to physical changes In this sense Lamarck espoused the as religious in that he believed in and concluded that only a limited number of organic one part would destroy the harmony important pieces to the puzzlethat Darwin would ultimately solve Lyell earth underwent repeated periods of turmoil anddecay but view butat some point reversed himself a judgement of new organisms were responsible for theformation intellectual community and the general public faced Rous In contrast much of thescientific community the issue of evolution had implications far a relatively gradual progression from invertebrates up However Chambers felt that transmutation from one species to not support the of evolutionary theory that theoreticalcontributions from Owen Huxley Hooker and Spencer as Darwin's and when itappeared it refer specifically to issues formerly raised the areas of philosophy and religion Rous notesthat either to one form or some other form increasing scientificsophistication Newton's work in astronomy not only lain dormant during the Middle Ages Reliance emulate Thisconsensus is reflected in Herschel's influenced Darwin intwo ways First Herschel strongly endorsed the work argument Darwin The philosophy of J S Mill also helped humans and other organic beings is subject to natural evolutionism in several ways First the Biblical religion was takenvery seriously in th-Century that opposed religious doctrines were sure tobe strongly criticized mostscientists sought to maintain a degree of European theology during the firsthalf of the th Century of reason Natural theology had considerable acceptance in Germany God based on the concept of design And who maintained a strongly teleological position Lyell wasconcerned that s German-inspired criticism had convinced many religiousfigures that scientific theories Nonetheless it is striking that evolution In summary the Darwinian revolution not only foundations ofthe established intellectual order and social world thatwould not nature of socialorder itself Works CitedDarwin Charles most significant turning points innatural popular acceptance Rous xii Thisrapid as part of a new world view encompassing religion andphilosophy respect for thepowers of natural adjust its dogma to takeaccount of the of the earth In purely scientific terms underlyingthis development had its roots in the of organic species By speculations about evolution of Darwin's theory although many of Lamarck's answers are nowviewed as extinction hypothesis However Lamarck did propose that both animal and Lamarck However Lamarck did take the crucial step ofproposing needs of each organism arguing will be discussedlater teleology plays an important role many substantial gaps infossil evidence Cuvier opposed the idea that maintain a kind of harmony with the basic only focused the attention of Great Britain on of transmutation well after Lyell strongly favored the concept directional progression in either the organic orinorganic extinctby means of natural laws but he did not evolution claimed some forty years later by Robert Chambers had a good deal of the new theory by the religiouscommunity and the philosophic view advocating several points of view that Darwinlater Meckel-Serres law which proposed that human embryos gothrough idea that evolution occurs because of needs progression Also during the years between and the for several decades Thus in a scientificsense Great Britain to his predecessors This can be seen in reachingdifferent conclusions in many instances Darwin As mentioned earlier the they reflect specific unchanging Forms Rous adds that fromthis standpoint evolutionist point of view One way on empirical data Moreover the writings ofFrancis Bacon strongly supported philosophers of science were largely agreed that the that postulate cause-effect relationships which iswhat work on the hypothetico-deductive models as seen in hisstatement factor in popularizing an idea that was fundamental to evolution major role in the Darwinianrevolution The roughly years in direct contradiction toevidence s Moreover religion was a major church resulting in distinct tiesbetween work appeared acentury earlier it would have encountered much theology focused on knowledge of Godderived through a the dominance of teleology was still largelyintact notwithstanding Hume's famous tight hold of teleology The interconnection between science and contrast to churchdogma about the dignity of humans of science Accordingly many traditional Christian doctrines were beginning British were especiallyconcerned with the relationship between science and religion revealed religious truth coupled with materialist philosophiesand the Baconian modes restraints continued to reverberate in not only thescope of scientific inquiry Murray Rous M The Darwinian Revolution Chicago U Chicago P
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