The aim of the following chapter is to present nature in Thomas Hardy’s Return of the Native and Jude the Obscure as a driving force from which human beings are dependent. The focus will be also put on the intellectual ferment caused by the discoveries of that time which place human beings at the same level as animals and question the immortality of soul. The protagonists will be presented as individuals struggling for existence in a harsh world governed by passion and chance. In the course of the following discussion nature will be rendered as on the one hand beautiful and harmonious with human beings, and on the other hand sublime and indifferent towards humans.
The term evolution is mainly associated with Charles Darwin, but the evolutionary …show more content…
He came up with this conclusion by studying and dissecting a number of …show more content…
Approaching his works from the perspective of an enlightened human being, Charles Darwin must have appreciated Aristotle’s brilliance summarized in his works. In ancient Greece people believed that the Earth is not only flat, but also that it is the centre of the universe. Truth uncovered today was unthinkable at the times of Aristotle. Darwin was inspired by the principle of continuity Dr. Erasmus Darwin, who was Charles Darwin’s grandfather, maintained that all life originates from simple and single organism. He stated that animals evolve and that their adaptation to diverse surroundings depends on several factors. One of them is whether the need for food is satisfied, and the other is fulfilling the need for security.
Charles Darwin undermined the value of religion by rejecting the idea of any godly influence upon the creation, in the light of his theory there is no God watching over a human being. The publication of The Origin of Species in 1859 gave a new standpoint towards the vision of how humans were created. On the voyage to the Beagle Darwin read Lyell’s the Principle of Geology and the Poetical Works written by John Milton, the thinker arrived at a conclusion which contradicted the Biblical version of
The term evolution is mainly associated with Charles Darwin, but the evolutionary …show more content…
He came up with this conclusion by studying and dissecting a number of …show more content…
Approaching his works from the perspective of an enlightened human being, Charles Darwin must have appreciated Aristotle’s brilliance summarized in his works. In ancient Greece people believed that the Earth is not only flat, but also that it is the centre of the universe. Truth uncovered today was unthinkable at the times of Aristotle. Darwin was inspired by the principle of continuity Dr. Erasmus Darwin, who was Charles Darwin’s grandfather, maintained that all life originates from simple and single organism. He stated that animals evolve and that their adaptation to diverse surroundings depends on several factors. One of them is whether the need for food is satisfied, and the other is fulfilling the need for security.
Charles Darwin undermined the value of religion by rejecting the idea of any godly influence upon the creation, in the light of his theory there is no God watching over a human being. The publication of The Origin of Species in 1859 gave a new standpoint towards the vision of how humans were created. On the voyage to the Beagle Darwin read Lyell’s the Principle of Geology and the Poetical Works written by John Milton, the thinker arrived at a conclusion which contradicted the Biblical version of