HY 102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 75: Pragmatism, Claude Monet, Academic Art
31 May 2018
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I.The Science and the Soul of the Modern Age
A. Darwin's revolutionary theory
1. Organic evolution by natural selection transformed the conception of nature itself
2. An unsettling new picture of human biology, behavior, and society
3. Jean Lamarck (1744-1829)
a. Behavioral changes could alter physical characteristics within a single generation
b. New traits could be passed on to offspring
4. Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
. The Origin of Species (1859)
i. Five years aboard
ii. H.M.S. Beagle
iii. Observed manifold variations of animal life
a. Theorized that variations within a population made certain
individuals better adapted for survival
. Drew on the population theories of Thomas Malthus (1766-1834)
i. Malthusian competition led to adaptation and ultimately survival
b. Darwin used natural selection to explain the origin of new species
c. Applied theory to plant and animal species as well as to man
d. The Descent of Man (1871)
. The human race had evolved from an apelike ancestor
B. Darwinian theory and religion
1. Darwinian theory challenged deeply held religious beliefs
2. Sparked a debate on the existence of God
3. For Darwin, the world was not governed by order, harmony, and divine will but by random
chance and struggle
4. Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895)
. Argued against Christians appalled by the implications of Darwinism
a. Called himself an agnostic
b. Opposed to all dogma
c. You should follow reason as far as it can take you
C. The rise of the social sciences
1. Influence of Darwinism on sociology, psychology, anthropology, and economics
2. New ways of quantifying and interpreting human experience
3. Social Darwinism
. Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)
. Applied individual competition to classes, races, and nations
i. Coined the expression "survival of the fittest"
ii. Condemned all forms of collectivism—the individual who "fit" was
all-important
a. Popularized notions of social Darwinism were easy to comprehend
. Integrated into popular vocabulary
i. Justified the natural order of rich and poor
ii. Nationalists used social Darwinism to rationalize imperialism and
warfare
iii. Also used to justify racial hierarchy and white superiority
D. Challenges to Rationality: Pavlov, Freud, and Nietzsche
1. The irrational and animalistic side of human nature
2. Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)
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