StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Analyzing the Work of Darwin - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
This essay 'Analyzing the Work of Darwin' focuses on the book by Charles Darwin that was to receive a lot of criticism, especially because it was written at a time when such ideas, as presented in the book, were not well received, either in the layman world or in the academia…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER97.7% of users find it useful
Analyzing the Work of Darwin
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Analyzing the Work of Darwin"

Darwin: Analysing His Work in Anticipation of Criticism The book by Charles Darwin the origin of Species, wasone book that was to receive a lot of criticism, especially due to the fact that it was written at a time when such ideas, as presented in the book, were not well received, either in the layman world or in the academia. This book was written at a time when religious belief was not only prominent on the society, but also was the main sponsor of academic endeavours. Its perceived attack on religion, or religious faith was a problem with many people of the time. Author himself, Charles Darwin, was not very sure he wanted to publish the finding of his research on this book, be felt that doing so would be killing God, killing his faith that he had had since he was a child. Reading through the book reveals that Darwin was aware of not only what the book would mean to others with regard to their values, but also with regard to his own religious beliefs. Drawing had all his adult life embarked on a research interests that would eventually lead to him have to denounce high faith. But it is not this that most affected him. Charles had friends not only within the scientific world but also in the religious realms. In fact, even those in the academia world were still not completely open to the idea of a scientific theory that ruled out the existence of God. It is probably due to this that Darwin is seen to be cautious with his worlds. Throughout the book, although Darwin is discussing a theory that does not have a place for omnipotent deity, he refrains from discussing this issue boldly and leaves from for the religious people to still see a place for a deity in the new understanding of things. In fact, it is not once that a religious academic claimed that even though they did agree that evolution was real, it was only indication that God had planned it, and created creations with the power to recreate themselves, and that this was an indication that God was even greater. Darwin deliberately left these grey areas in the book, including the subsequent editions, so that he would leave a room for those who would want to look at the issues in this way. The fact that Darwin also anticipated great criticism from those who would believe that his book was an attack on God can also be clearly seen in his choice for diction. Despite the fact that Darwin was a seasoned academic, he used diction that was less scientific and, as a way to appease those who would not necessarily completely like the idea of evolution where God does not have a place in the creation of people, and other species. In this regard, Darwin is seen using vocabulary such as beautiful, wonderful etc., as a way to connect with the religious people of the time. This can be seen in chapter one where Darwin (30) has used the term beautiful to describe a number of things. First, he describes the results of cross-breeding some birds as beautiful, describing a process which he used to cross-breed birds of different colours to produce a generation of beautiful birds. This use of the word beautiful may be seen as an appeal to the emotion, as opposed to appeal to mind. In this regard, Darwin did not use to appeal to the scientific and academic aide of the debate that would ensue, but to the moral debate that would follow the publication of his manuscript. It would seem that Darwin was trying, while introducing a controversial idea, to appeal to those who could not immediately accept his ideas. Darwin also probably hoped to talk directly to the lay person as opposed to only leaving other scholars to interpret his theory to the masses. Throughout the book, it is obvious that he understated that there would be a lot of politics around his book and hat most of the academics would attack his book not necessarily on principle, but to be politically correct. In this regarded Darwin chose to write in a language that would be easy to read, even buy the common person who did not have a lot of scientific knowledge. He believed that it was better for the common person to make their own judgements as opposed to the Academic to interpret for them. The conscious of Darwin is also clearly seen in the fact that he never talked about the origin of life but the origin of species. This left a space for people to believe that he did not claim that live begun in other firs other than created by a supreme God. In other words, to a lay-person who could not interpret the implications of the theory, it would appear that Darwin was only describing the source of the variety for species rather than the origin of life. In this fashion, he would be able to ward off most of the harsh criticism from the academic world because if the public accepted his boo, the criticism from his peers would be as sharp. It would also seem that Darwin was not only doing this to deal with the criticism from outside, but also the criticism from within him. As the drafted the theory, Darwin was still struggling with his Christian faith, having been brought up as an Anglican in a Christian family which was wholly devout. In this regard, it can be seen that Darwin was trying to appease the part of him which was not wholly convinced on whether he should publish such a book. This was actually further affected by the death of her daughter and his ill health that affected him for so many years, especially the years preceding the publication of the book. Not only does the book use a language which is easier for the lay man to understand, Darwin also chooses the introductory chapter to discuss something that the layman can easily relate with. The first chapter talks about evolution evidence among domesticated animals. Darwin uses this as a way to talk to the law man. The common person would easily associate with the issues of domesticated birds, and would have in some cases seen the phenomena Darwin was discussing in the book. This would make it easer for these people to understand the concept and therefore any harsh criticisms by the academics would be less severe. The fact that Darwin’s writing is geared mostly towards talking to the lay person indicates that Darwin, unlike the typical academic, was not afraid of professional criticism (criticism of his professional work) as he was of personal criticism (criticism about the morality of the subject). If he received personal criticism, the slaughter house where he would be skinned would in the court of public opinion. He was therefore not afraid of professional ridicule about the ingenuity of his work, but was concerned about how the publics would receive him. In this regard, it does seem that as he wrote each word, each sentence and each chapter, the question in his mind was; will the overly religious people of my time judge me harshly of killing their God? Reading the book and the history that surrounded it reveals that Darwin must have been overly aware of the fact that his book, or rather the ideas presented in it would make him look like the devil’s advocate. In a time when blending in into society was so important especially for a person with a young family as did Darwin, this was a critical situation for Darwin and he knew that the publication of the book had a potential to leave in a lonely island, not just intellectually, but also socially. Darwin had to be faithful to his scientific genius and be in trouble with the society, or betray his scientific findings by not publishing them and remain at ease with the society. He however chose way to solve the problem. Whether he did it consciously or unconsciously it is evident that Darwin chose the middle ground in the situation. Instead of telling the story of evolution in way that would explicitly rule out God, he chose to use a grey area, giving the book a lighter touch to it, and leaving the reader to make their own interpretations and conclusions. This is what Darwin feared, the fact that those who should best understand and support he book would be the ones attacking and ridiculing it, much to the expense of the lay-person who would be inclined to take the interpretation for the academics and the clergy. Darwin also must have written the book with a clear understanding of just how much control the church had on academics. Most academic researches were sponsored by churches. Universities themselves in Europe were directly funded and managed by churches. In such a environment, it would take a miracle to have his book accepted in the academic world, at least not by everybody. This is one hurdle that must have flashed in Darwin’s mind as he wrote the book. Works Cited Darwin, Charles. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. London: John Murray, 1859. Print Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“DARWIN Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words”, n.d.)
DARWIN Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/philosophy/1492496-darwin
(DARWIN Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 Words)
DARWIN Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 Words. https://studentshare.org/philosophy/1492496-darwin.
“DARWIN Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/philosophy/1492496-darwin.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Analyzing the Work of Darwin

Savagery and Civilization

owever, Darwin's allegations have since been challenged by literary scholars who termed some of darwin's assertions as inadequate, presumptive and not supported by irrefutable evidence.... This paper ''Savagery and Civilization'' tells us that Charles darwin meanwhile insinuates that savages have a lower reproductive capacity than civilized people since they face more natural calamities and are vulnerable to many pestilences.... Civilization on the other hand is to live with rules and laws that ensure order in the conduct of human affairs (darwin 45)....
9 Pages (2250 words) Term Paper

Explain Darwin's Major Influence on Psychology

The very nature of darwin's theories of adaptation, natural and sexual selection invited much criticism and acclaim throughout the past century.... To think of darwin's influence on psychology, this approach of psychological experimentation is arguably the most significant achievement resulting from Darwin's theories.... Explain darwin's major influence on Psychology Name University Charles darwin's influence on psychology has always been a matter of debate....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Human Nature According Descartes and Darwin

The paper explores how history and modern science has added more weight to the views of darwin.... "Human Nature According Descartes and darwin" paper explores the contrasting views of Descartes and darwin on human nature to compare them and show why they are at odds with each other.... darwin, in The Descent of Man, argues that human nature can be fully explained by science and a number of evolutionary processes provide evidence for this statement....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

How important are the facial expressions of emotion in human communication

162) Ekman along with Friesen continued the work of darwin on 'muscle movement', and after analysing several studies, which include six pictures of posed, and... lthough darwin was not the first one to research on the emotional expressions of human beings.... Before darwin the topic was researched by Charles Bells who believed that facial expressions including smiles, frowns, laughs, sighs, beams, grimace, disgust and anger stand for humans as a natural language to communicate with each other, infact he possessed the view that facial expressions are the main source by which one soul communicates with another....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Pioneers of Psychology by Raymond Fancher

The chapter is a summary of darwin's take on evolution.... In analyzing the content of the book, there is a general overview that is created with respect to already done works on psychology.... While analyzing the contents of the book, the reader is easily enabled to earn a perspective of all psychologists and their works.... or instance, chapter six is titled Charles darwin and Theory of Evolution.... In this chapter, the authors explain the evolution theory according to darwin....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Whether Human Evolutionary Process Is Transferring Digital Information or Analogue

(darwin, 1959; quoted in Huxley, 1872: X) Theories have been articulated and researches have been made to bring the realities of biological and cultural evolutions to the limelight.... Charles darwin's theory revolutionized the views regarding biological human evolution in modern times and many of the future researchers and scholars followed the same while articulating their assumptions and making their analysis.... His brilliant theories and in-depth study have not only won a respectable place for him in the field of biological evolution but also they reflect and rectify the ideas and speculations presented by Charles darwin in his magnificent Origin of Species....
8 Pages (2000 words) Coursework

The Theoretician and the Experimenter - Eugenics and Francis Galton

Cowan (509) has described the work of Francis Galton as 'science stimulated by political theories and directed toward social goals.... He started his work by 'counting the number of men listed in a biographical dictionary who were relatives of someone else on the list' and then based on this, he published the book, 'Hereditary Talent and Character'....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay

A Qualitative Study to Establish the Role of NGOs in Child Protection in Australias Northern Territory

the work "A Qualitative Study to Establish the Role of NGOs in Child Protection in Australia's Northern Territory" describes key informants who shall be interviewed and engaged in Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and data shall be analyzed using the General Inductive Approach.... This study is limited to the darwin of Northern Territory, Australia.... In darwin; NT for instance, prevalent child abuse cases include child neglect, family violence exposure, bodily and sexual abuse, diseases, children out of school, and alcohol and drug abuse (Jayaraj, et al....
7 Pages (1750 words) Research Paper
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us