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Summary

This introductory chapter notes the expansion of interest in the history of popular science and its role in shaping the relationship between science and society. It outlines the elements needed to understand how science is popularized, including the work of both scientists and media figures. The chapter then shows how historians now interpret the rise of evolutionism, noting that Darwin’s theory of natural selection was at first challenged by rival views of how evolution works with very different implications for the ascent of life, not all compatible with the image of the ‘tree of life’. The application of these ideas to human origins and to ideologies based on social evolution is noted for its potential impact on how the theory was perceived. All of these positions need to be taken into account to understand how the topic was displayed to the wider public.

From Darwin's The Origin of Species to the twenty-first century, Peter Bowler reinterprets the long Darwinian Revolution by refocussing our attention on the British and American public. By applying recent historical interest in popular science to evolutionary ideas, he investigates how writers and broadcasters have presented both Darwinism and its discontents. Casting new light on how the theory's more radical aspects gradually grew in the public imagination, Evolution for the People extends existing studies of the popularization of evolutionism to give a more comprehensive picture of how attitudes have changed through time. In tracing changes in public perception, Bowler explores both the cultural impact and the cultural exploitation of these ideas in science, religion, social thought and literature.

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1 - Bridging the Gap

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Evolution for the People

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2 results

1 - Bridging the Gap

Summary

Evolution for the People