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Darwinism Western Civilization II
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Pushing the Boundaries of Science Scientific advances fueled 2 nd Industrial Revolution & created aura of infallibility Popularized by science fiction writers like Jules Verne Louis Pasteur developed germ theory of contagion in the 1860s, as well as heat sterilization process & rabies vaccine Robert Koch isolated typhoid bacterium, leading to testing & treating of drinking water Joseph Lister introduced carbolic acid as antiseptic in hospitals New Physics replaced Newtonian view of the universe: Marie Curie (1867-1934) & Pierre Currie (1859-1906) discovered Radium – opened up world of subatomic particles Max Planck (1858-1947) offered Quantum Theory in 1900 Albert Einstein (1879-1955) published Special Theory of Relativity in 1905, arguing space & time are relative to observer Energy of matter is equivalent to its mass times the square of the velocity of light
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Darwin’s Theory of Evolution Charles Darwin went on HMS Beagle expedition in 1831 Influenced by Malthus & Ricardo Charles Lyell’s Principles of Geology said Earth millions of years old Swann developed cell theory Origin of Species (1859) set forth theory of evolution Genetic mutations allow certain plants & animals to survive & pass on traits this process of “natural selection” allowed living things to evolve from less complex to more complex forms Explicitly included humans in The Descent of Man (1871)
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Social Darwinism Herbert Spencer – sociology Argued gov’t aid to the “unfit” only impedes natural selection Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855-1927) – racism Thought modern-day Germans were only pure successors of Aryans Fostered growth of Anti-Semitism in Germany Francis Galton – eugenics Studied genetics with goal of scientifically breeding humans Got laws passed allowing forced sterilization of criminals & mentally disabled
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Darwinism & Christianity Darwin’s Challenge to Christianity: Literal interpretation of Genesis 1-2 Divine creation (argument from design) Human souls Original sin 3 responses to the challenge: Hostility – Fundamentalism Premillenial dispensationalism Holiness & Pentecostal movements Pope Pius IX – Syllabus of Errors, papal infallibility, immaculate conception of Mary Capitulation – Modernism (The Social Gospel) Compromise – Evangelicalism (Neo-Orthodoxy) Salvation Army Pope Leo XIII – Rerum Novarum (1891)
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