by Although Darwin was famous for his Evolution by natural selection theory among scientists, his theory was not confined to the scientific field. Most people would have heard and been familiar with Evolution and Darwin. Thus, it is clear that Darwin’s work has profound and radiating effects on society’s different aspects. Such a fact shows science’s ability to influence the population profoundly in society. However, Darwinian Evolution Theory tells us more than that. Darwinian Evolution’s development and legacies provide insights for science-induced clashes with traditions and existing beliefs, the deviation and then misuse of certain scientific concepts, and science’s potential to promote social developments in different fields.
Darwinian Evolution’s development and legacies show that science could induce clashes with religion and conventions in society. Darwin’s Evolution Theory emerged during Victorian England, which was still dominated by the religious interpretation regarding the origin of lives: “for decades the most enlightened writers in the fields of science and religion had accepted that much of the Old Testament, and Genesis in particular, had to be read in a metaphorical sense (History Extra).” With such a situation, it is lucid that science could cause confrontation with religion. Consequently, the emergence and development of Darwinian Evolution in society inevitably put question marks on Christianity’s interpretation of the origin of lives on earth. Specifically, the most striking clashes induced by the scientific idea were embraced in Darwinian Evolution’s development. Darwin’s perception and anxiety regarding the theory’s capability to induce clashes of ideas about the origin of lives reflected the induced clashes between emergent scientific ideas and religion in Victorian England. Specifically, “he acknowledged its religious implications… it would deny any role for God in nature and challenge the natural theological traditions so firmly embedded in British life and institutions (Browne 45).”
Besides the induction of clashes with religions, science could induce conflicts with conventions in society. Darwinian Evolution in China in the early 20th century led to successive upheaval in Chinese society. The traditional social order stemmed from the rule of propriety (Li/”礼”) was replaced entirely by the new order based on the rule of competition and power (Xu). As a result, the scientific idea, in this case, Darwinian Evolution Theory, “seriously undermined the rules of ethics and caused serious political consequences in the late Qing and early Republican period (Xu).” Thus, the drastic change in Chinese society after introducing Darwin’s Evolution Theory reveals science’s induction of clashes with conventions in society, leading to significant changes in people’s mindsets and social structure.
Regarding the effect of Darwinian Evolution’s legacies, it is clear that sometimes deviation would occur among people, which would lead to misunderstanding and misuse of science in society throughout history and across the world. As Browne mentioned in the book Darwin’s Origin, “all the verbal ambiguities would lead readers in directions that Darwin did not intend.” In interpretation, voids left room for different people’s interpretations of the theory based on their experience and understanding. Such a process would inevitably induce deviation of the original and relatively objective scientific theory. One famous deviation of Darwinian Evolution Theory is the ‘Survival of the fittest,’ coined by Herbert Spencer in 1864. Spencer’s theory was so widespread that many communities’ social structures were altered based on it, like China’s upheaval in the first decade of the 20th century.
Besides, Eugenics stemmed from a misinterpretation of Darwinian Evolution by Francis Galton. Specifically, based on the natural selection and evolution concepts Darwin made, “the human race could help direct its future by selectively breeding individuals who have “desired” traits (Genetics Generation).” Such an argument was a deviation from Darwinian Evolution, a scientific concept. However, given the avid support and desire among people to improve their future generations’ status in society, although Eugenics is a deviated misunderstanding of Darwinian Evolution, it ultimately leads to a drastic development and conduct of unethical movement, like the forced sterilization in the US and ethnic cleansing during World War II.
A specific stratification in society according to the education level in China reflects the effect of Darwinian Evolution’s deviation on society. More and more people are falsely applying Social Darwinism, the Darwinian Evolution concept’s deviation, to vilify and hurt others in China. For instance, it was well-known that the Bachelor of Science disdain Bachelor of Art in China because BA owners to have narrower job opportunities. Moreover, Ph.D. owners are contemptuous about Master owners as well as Bachelors’. Unfortunately, people who went to professional schools stay at the bottom of the informal social hierarchy. Here is one more example: students who could not get into any Chinese university and want to avoid Gaokao study at International schools. As a result, BAs, professional school students, and international school students are the three most striking examples of blamed groups. They were said to be useless people without bright futures, and they could only rely on their parents.
Furthermore, the legacies of Darwinian Evolution illustrate the science’s potential to stimulate the development of particular facets of society, which is not merely limited to the scientific field. Genetics’ development as a significant biological science area was based on Darwin’s Evolution theory’s legacies. Notably, Darwin’s Evolution theory promoted scientists to reexamine heredity, inheritance, and related questions. Elicited by these questions, Mendel’s laws and genetics were rediscovered and advanced in history.
Additionally, the political arena was affected by science, which could be supported by the relationship between Darwin’s theory and Karl Marx. “Karl Marx was famously intrigued by Darwin’s thesis, saying on several different occasions that he saw in its workings the capitalist system of competition and laissez-faire (101).” Marx’s notice about Darwinian Evolution in the social structure built a virtual platform for developing Marxism and later the occurrence and spread of communism. Consequently, such a correlation suggests that Darwinian Evolution’s legacies could stimulate the advancement of both science and ideologies in society, which are distinct but indispensable components of society.
Given the potential to induce confrontation with existing beliefs, the occurrence of deviation of the theory, and the development of different elements of society, Darwinian Evolution’s development, and legacies elucidates the similar characteristics and effects on society science has as well. Science’s influence is not confined to the scientific arena. It permeates many other aspects of society, which is indeed complicated and delicate.
Literature Cited
Jilin XU (2012) Social Darwinism in modern China, Journal of Modern Chinese History, 6:2, 182-197, DOI: 10.1080/17535654.2012.718605.
“Darwin vs God: Did the ‘Origin of Species’ Cause a Clash between Church and Science?” History Extra, 26 Apr. 2019, www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/darwin-vs-god-did-the-origin-of-species-cause-a-clash-between-church-and-science/.
“Introduction to Eugenics.” Genetics Generation, knowgenetics.org/history-of-eugenics/.