Darwin’s ideas deal not only with science and animals, but also with the social and mental conditions of humans. It is on this topic that the influence of Victorian culture and values is most evident. First, Darwin tries to explain how humans gained intellect and morality through evolution. He believes that all creatures are “capable of advancement” but humans have developed higher intellectual and moral qualities through natural selection. Our intellect has advanced through the improvement of language, since language has allowed humans to form more complete thoughts and improve all of our mental faculties. Our moral qualities have developed through the social instincts such as love and sympathy. Through the moral qualities, both conscience and reason have been formed. Darwin believes that reason and rationale is more evolved in Europe, since “with the less civilized nations reason often errs” . Darwin’s evidence for this belief is that the “less civilized” have primitive customs and the wrong virtues. Also, they are seen to be without morals, whereas the “more civilized” have very advanced morality, especially when “the existence of an all-seeing Deity” is believed. The belief in God is also what separates humans from lower animals, since it requires “a considerable advance in the reasoning powers of man, and from a still greater advance in his faculties of imagination, curiosity and wonder,” but the idea of God doesn’t form in man’s mind until “he has been elevated by long continued culture” . Darwin’s ideas have connections to what was happening in the world during his time. For example, Britain was leading the way in colonization and many believed that the people of faraway places weren’t as advanced as themselves. Also, missionaries were sent to convert the savages to Christianity since it was believed that their race could be “saved” from their ignorance of God and raised up to civilization.
The value of progress is also seen in Darwin’s views of laissez-faire capitalism. In an earlier chapter of The Descent of Man, Darwin explains that capitalism is a natural progression and advancement of higher races. Capitalism “is far from an unmixed evil; for without the accumulation of capital the arts could not progress; and it is chiefly through their power that the civilized races have extended, and are now everywhere extending their range, so as to take the place of lower races” . In the capitalist countries, wealth is passed down through the family and so some have advantages afforded to them. However, anyone could improve their conditions through economic means, but their children would also be subject to the struggle for existence and only those with strong minds and bodies would be able to succeed.
Darwin’s views can be considered racist, but some people took Darwin’s theories much further, forming social Darwinism. At this time, the social sciences were heavily influenced by biological science. Many social scientist classified different races as different species or even sub-species and mostly ignored natural selection and concentrated on the theory of survival of the fittest. The theory of social Darwinism puts forth the idea that certain races or groups of people are stronger and more advanced than others. Eventually the groups unable to develop and adapt would eventually die out. There are two main schools of social Darwinism, the individualistic and the collective. The individualistic school is mainly connected to the ideas of Herbert Spenser. He argues that humans shouldn’t interfere with evolution, specifically that we shouldn’t help those who have less than ourselves since they are unable to improve their condition and eventually those who are weak will die out. This stance advocates a laissez-faire attitude of government where there is no social support or aid. The second school of social Darwinism is the collective, which focuses on the evolution of a particular group. The belief is that particular races, classes and nations are more superior to others and over time the weaker groups will be eliminated. This theory is socially regressive and was rejected by most scientists. However, it was very popular, especially with conservative governments and maintained the ideas of National Socialism and fascists. While some of Darwin’s theories were racist and negatively influenced by Victorian values, many of Darwin’s ideas have been taken out of their original context in order to support the aims of social Darwinists.
In The Descent of Man, Darwin presents an apt argument for his theories of evolution. He uses fitting evidence, considering he didn’t have access to the knowledge of genetics and the fossil records that we have today. However, it is notable how deeply influenced Darwin was by Victorian values, especially when dealing with the human social condition and the differences in superiority between civilizations. It is also interesting to see how others have interpreted Darwin’s theories, and created their own theories based on Darwinism. Overall, Darwin’s ideas, while originally scientific, have been impacted by social factors and in turn have influenced social theories.
