Scientific & Intellectual trends, 1860-1914
Industrial society drives technology -- scientific progress is all around
Comte -positivism-builds on Enlightenment & scientific revolution - develops sociology
Charles Darwin - theory of evolution is profoundly sig. by @1870
Herbert Spencer - adaptation of Darwinian view: "social Darwinism" - suits capitalist, imperialist views
Q: To what extent is human behavior definition based on natural competition?
Western Christianity 1860-1914
Religious theory and institutions decline in power & significance
public school expansion in GB & FR, Kulturkampf in GER spurs resistance
Despite new science - religion still has powerful appeal in most of western culture - perhaps strengthened by scientific criticism
ex. - Catholic revival in Ireland, France, Germany - papacy against modernism
Papacy - (Rerum Novarum) expresses dissatisfaction w/capitalism, socialism -
idea: humanitarian, Catholic "corporatism"
Philosophy, psychology,
1860-1914
Friedrich Nieztsche: humanity: revival of classical "hero" - human culture which reflected strength, courage, intellectualism
Sigmund Freud: est. psychoanalysis
Freudian view: human behavior connected to early experiences - sexuality is central to thought, action
Freud-unconscious thought - (expressed in dreams)-id, ego & superego define behavior
Q-How are Nieztsche & Freud connected to scientific trends?
Racism: science & impact
Cultural anthropologists study various human societies -look for common features
race emerges as central theme in cultural determinism -
nationalism feeds racial theories of superiority- German Teutons, Aryans, Slavs
Social Darwinism pits races against each other- ex. Nordics vs. Latins, Caucasians vs. Negroes, Semites vs. Aryans
anti-Semitism intensifies - leads to development of Zioniam (Herzl)
Modernism in art & literature
Artists, writers, others challenge assumptions of western establishment
art: impressionism, cubism emphasize individual perception (ex. Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet, Kandinsky)
writings are critical of social norms and conventions: (ex. Ibsen, Woolf, Joyce, Zola, O’Neil)
Q-How did these individuals and trends relate to modern scientific and philosophical movements?