| The Social Impact of Darwin's Theory of Evolution |
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| Darwin�s Theory of Evolution is perhaps one of the most influential ideas in history. It also is one of those ideas that so many people take for granted. Furthermore, it is an idea that many people despise. Now, this latter is most puzzling. How can people view evolution in this way? I am a non-major and I grasp the concept of evolution quite well. Why are others not able to do so? That is what I wish to tackle with this essay. You will read a hundred essays dealing with the scientific importance of Darwin�s Theory. Instead, I want to briefly look at the social impact of Darwin�s Theory. In doing so maybe we can gain an understanding of why so many people reject evolution. Darwin�s theories touched our lives in more ways you can imagine. First, I will mention the door he opened for scientists. Before Darwin, the Church was at the center of science. The world and everything in it was God�s creation and therefore perfect. The idea that it could change was blasphemous. Although Darwin was not the first man to propose the idea that the Earth and its inhabitants could change, he was the first man to make it popular. This was very important for society. A shift away from the Church had begun over a hundred years earlier with the first thinkers of the Enlightenment. Darwin was the straw that broke the proverbial camels back. After Darwin, the Church would be on the defensive. It would be forced to give up more and more of �God�s miracles� as Science explained the things we witnessed every day. To us today this is unimaginable, but in the day of Darwin, it was radical. No longer would �because God did it� be a reasonable response to nature�s questions. Of course, Darwin�s theories would also have a negative impact on society. This negative impact was not because of Charles Darwin, rather others who manipulated his ideas to suit their own needs and goals. The evil I am referring to is known as Social Darwinism. Survival of the fittest applied to society. The sick and poor are sick and poor because of nature, not because I am paying them starvation wages and forcing them to live in slums. Furthermore, I am rich and powerful because I am better adapted than everyone else is. This idea was pervasive in the late 19th Century. It was supported by the wealthy, including Carnegie and Rockefeller. Social Darwinism was exemplified in the famous and incredibly popular �Cross of Gold� speech, given by William Jennings Bryan. Bryan toured the United States giving this speech everywhere he went. In this speech, Bryan tells his audience that they became rich through hard work. It was survival of the fittest and through their efforts, they had come out on top. The poor were only poor because they didn�t work hard enough. Social Darwinism is truly a perversion of Darwin�s ideas. Regrettably, though, it was the driving force of the time. The impact it had on history was incredibly important and thus something that we shouldn�t forget. This leads me to the final thing I wish to discuss. Why do so many people dislike Evolution? I have talked to people who refuse to believe the theory and they will not be convinced. To many people, the concept is completely alien. They have no understanding of what Evolution is or how it works. One of their arguments is that evolution is just a �theory�. Of course, this argument is ridicules. When closely examined, it becomes obvious that this argument is based upon their miss use of the word �theory�. They are thinking of �theory�, in a non-technical sense. In this sense, �theory� can mean any old idea that pops into ones head. This in not the sense scientists mean when they say Evolution is a Theory with a capital T, that is to say a very specialized sense of the word theory. A scientific Theory is something that has survived criticism over time, while its competitors have not. This has to do to the nature of Deductive vs. Inductive arguments. The fact is Science will never deductively prove anything. However, Science is able to say when something is very, very, likely to be true. Evolution is one of these cases. The mountain of evidence supporting it plus the fact that other competing hypotheses have been disproved is very strong evidence for Evolution being correct. Scientists need to take the time to educate the everyday person about the nature of scientific progress. Otherwise, more disagreements like this will occur. A second argument against evolution that I often hear is what I like to call the �I didn�t evolve from no damn monkey� argument. Once again, this is just a misunderstanding of what evolution says. Darwin and Evolution never claimed that man evolved from a monkey. Evolution speculates that monkeys, apes, and humans all shared a common ancestor. This is usually enough to stop their argument cold. Once again, we see though that if scientists would educate society a little, these problems would be greatly reduced. The last argument I will look at is the one offered by religious conservatives. This argument is the one that scares me the most. Not only does it show everyday ignorance, but also a regression of 150 years worth of thought. The argument I am referring to is the Creationism argument. �God created the world just as it is. There is no evolution. Period.� Many followers of this argument also believe in the idea of �Young Earth�, that is the idea that the Earth is only about 6,000 years old. I have yet to see a �Young Earth� argument that was based upon any good scientific work. The arguments they present are at best bad science. For the most part the arguments aren�t even scientific. Instead, they are philosophical in nature. To claim them as science, as creationists often do, is wrong. As this is not a philosophy paper, I will not debate the Creationist arguments. However, I will say that outside of this paper I am more than willing to debate them with anyone at anytime and anywhere. In my opinion, Creationism is dangerous to science as it attempts to reverse scientific progress. To creationists, the idea that �God did it� is the correct idea. Once again, education is the key. Scientists must take steps to popularize science again. Only by appealing to the general population will they have any hope of drowning out the creationist message. However, it can�t stop there. This is because Creationism is not a scientific idea that can be disproved. It is a philosophical belief. Therefore, it is up to philosophers, such as myself, to show creationists that their arguments are flawed from a philosophical standpoint as well. There is nothing in either science or religion that says the other cannot exist. Scientists and philosophers need to work hand in hand to achieve the goal of defeating the Creationist attack. Evolutions impact on society has been as dramatic as the impact it made on Science. It has been a driving force of both history and advancement. However, Darwin�s ideas are once again at risk. Scientists have taken Evolution for granted, and in doing so have blinded themselves to society. However, it is not to late to fix that mistake. Through education, scientists can show the everyday person that Darwin�s Theory of Evolution is just as important today as it was when Darwin first proposed it. |