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1. The Influence of Darwin
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I. The Influence of Darwin Charles Darwin's theory of the evolution of natural species had a profound influence upon the pragmatic naturalists. They are concerned with the implications of evolutionary theory for a general view of nature and, of human life, for a new theory of knowledge, and for a general theory of value. The Darwinian revolutionary outlook can be understood best, perhaps, by contrasting some of its features with conceptions of nature and human life which preceded it. At least from the time of Aristotle many people believed that "nature does nothing in vain" and that the species or forms of nature do not change. Although the development of modern science from the time of Galileo had changed much of the knowledge of nature on which these assumptions were based, the views of antiquity and of medieval times persisted . The assumption that natural species are changeless affects not only the general picture of nature but also the kind of knowledge which is possible of natural forms. Before the advent of experimental science the primary logical methods applied to the study of n!lture were definition and classification. The work of the natural scientist, on this view, consists primarily in classifying all the species of nature in a hierarchical order and in formulating definitions of their "essences," that is, of the universal, necessary, and determinate characteristics of these unchanging forms. Thus, if the forms or species of nature are thought to be unchanging , and if the classifications and definitions of these forms are complete, and believed to be correct, then knowledge PRAGMATIC NATURALISM 4 built upon these forms is absolute and certain. Once the essences or definitions of the forms are correctly formulated, then the work of the natural scientist is over. The definitions and classifications of all substances from the highest being to the lowest were worked out in elaborate schemes in medieval times. Some medieval thinkers thought that their understanding of nature was complete, and they regretted that future generations would have nothing to learn from observing and studying nature. Most ancient and medieval philosophers believed, however , that inquiry could be extended beyond the work of the natural scientists. The higher subject matters of learning were believed to be contemplation of God, sometimes conceived as the First Cause and the Last End or Final Purpose of all things in nature. All nature was believed to be moving toward some divine goal or final end. While it was rather common on the Aristotelian scheme of knowledge to think of mathematics and physics as fixed in their subject matters, thus giving inquirers some emotional comfort in thepermanence of this kind of knowledge, the real challenge, it was thought, is that of answering two fundamental questions which have always in some way or another challenged the curiosity and imagination of human beings. The ultimate questions, on this view, are: Where did all life, all forms of nature, all natural physical things come from? To what end or purpose are all the creations in nature, including human beings, moving? Failure to give some rational answer to these primary questions, it was held, means a failure of the intellectual enterprise. Interest in a First Cause and a Final End of all creation was said to be a rational speculation, yet the solution of these problems was considered to be on a higher level than the study of natural forms or of the practical affairs of human life. It was often admitted that this kind of intellectual activity "bakes no bread," that is, it is not practical in the sense of controlling nature and of creating a more secure life within nature. [3.87.133.69] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 19:22 GMT) NATURE AND HUMAN LIFE 5 The problem of what is permanent and what is changing in nature has been perplexing from the early inception of the critical method of philosophical and scientific inquiry. Ancient and medieval thinkers observed that change takes place in the individual during its lifetime. For instance, a specific individual living in space and time grows to a mature form and gradually loses this form in death. The growth toward maturity of an individual within a species was often called "generation"; the disintegration of the form of the individual was called "decay." For example, particular horses are born, grow to maturity, and begin gradually to decay until death destroys the particularized form they embody. Thus, it was held that particular individuals within natural species are changing...