Discussion Questions for WEEK THREE

What influences helped developed the Victorian ethos?

The Victorian Age was the culmination of changes in the political, social, scientific, theological and cultural spheres throughout Europe. Darwin's newly elaborated evolutionary idea was the pivot for social Darwinism, a theory based on the gradual movement of the species toward greater self-awareness and strength. Shaw described this process in his play Man and Superman. Freud also utilized the concept in his libido theory. Horney interpreted the process as a psychic response to the intense societal pressures to succeed. A linkage of interdependence and progression of these ideas emerges as the world continues to evolve.

What allowed dance forms such as ballet to develop at this time?

Ballet is a formalized form of dance with its origins in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th and 16th centuries. It quickly spread to the French court of Catherine de' Medici where it was developed even further. In the late 17th century Louis XIV founded the Académie Royale de Musique (the Paris Opera) within which emerged the first professional theatrical ballet company, the Paris Opera Ballet.

Discuss the significance of Darwin and Darwinian theory on modern scientific thought.

In short, it is horribly antiquated. If you read "Origin" you will see that Darwin fully expected someone to find the transitional fossil record linking man with beast. That has not and will not happened. Moreover, if you research Darwin's life, he disputed his own theory before he passed away. Finally, scientists today, while remarkably smart and advanced (thankfully), still overlook/dismiss the gap in the fossil record and extrapolate their answers from a false beginning. The scientific community for the most part, therefore, lacks a faith lest it be in humanism or self. From there error