19th Century

The 19th Century was a time of great change. Population growth changed from linear to cubic to exponential. Monarchies fell. The role of religion in government withered in the West. Technological progress was astounding, and the status of science elevated. Secular philosophies florished, and secular sciences expanded dramatically. Psychology was established. Anthropology was established. The list goes on: modern geology, organic chemistry, electricity, photography. This amazing age also saw the publication of the Origin of Species, a work that firmly established humanity's connection with the rest of life and influenced many secular thinkers.

Hypothesis of mechanism for evolution promoted by Lamarck 1803ADThe swan song of creation science 1812ADFirst photographs 1826ADFirst prehuman fossil found (not immediately recognized) 1829ADGeology proves an old Earth 1830ADNatural selection discussed 1831AD'Fossil man' hypothesized 1841ADChambers: Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation 1844ADGorillas discovered by the scientific community 1847ADSecond prehuman fossil (not immediately recognized) 1848ADCommunist Mannifesto penned 1848ADPleistocene archaeology discovered with 'Pleistocene Man' 1849ADFirst ethnography describing kinship terms and cultural structure 1851ADNeanderthal cranium discovered and recognized as important 1856ADWallace writes letter about natural selection to Darwin 1858ADOrigin of Species 1859AD'Psychic unity of mankind' discussed 1860ADEarths age stated to be between 20 and 400 million years old 1863ADCultural anthropology book 1861ADHomo neanderthalensis named 1864ADHerber Spencer conceives social Darwinism 1864ADCulture defined in its modern sense 1874ADFrancis Galton coins phrase Nature vs. nurture 1874ADAthiesm and nihilism 1882ADHomo erectus discovered 1891ADPerception of the unconscious mind 1896ADAmerican anthropology founded 1896AD

1882AD Athiesm and nihilism

Nietzsche was influenced by evolutionary thinking and a growing global secularism. He came to see human life seen as a meaningless struggle for existence. Nietzsche's key ideas include the "death of God", the Ubermensch, and the will to power. Central to his philosophy is the idea of "life-affirmation", which involves questioning of all doctrines that drain life's expansive energies, however socially prevalent and radical those views might be. His influence remains substantial within philosophy, notably in existentialism, post-modernism, and post-structuralism, as well as outside it. His radical questioning of the value and objectivity of truth has been the focus of extensive commentary, especially in the continental tradition. Although Nietzsche's ideas have been influential, he was more philosopher than scientist. The world is not nearly so bleak or abysmal to most scientists studying the richness of reality.

 

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