The Romantic to the Darwinistic: A Shift in the Outlook on NatureAmit Bajaj—Pledged
March 26, 2012
Dr. Forbes
Section 7- 11:00-11:50
The Romantic to the Darwinistic: A Shift in the Outlook on Nature After the Romantic period, a major shift occurred in the outlook of nature in the minds of scholars and philosophers. The Romantic period ultimately regarded nature as the immutable beauty of the physical world, without the impurities of the human mind or action. Ultimately, the Romantics believed that humanity had a very dark, evil side to it—as portrayed in Francisco de Goya’s Saturn Devouring One of His Children, for example—and therefore, nature is simply the aspect of the world that is not contaminated with this evil side of the human mind. After the shift towards Darwinian beliefs, however, nature was regarded holistically—in addition to interference that humans impose upon nature, it was also defined by the constant change that it underwent. In the eyes of Darwin, nature was always changing form and adapting—an idea that runs counter to the Romantic idea that nature is a constant, always demonstrating purity and goodness. The Romantic Movement ultimately began around the time of the French Revolution, when there was a large amount of upheaval. Romantics believed that they could return to peace and unity they once had after all of the strife which presented itself during Robespierre’s Reign of Terror by observing nature and the purity that was contained within it. They ultimately believed that the only entity that remained pure from all the strife and horror that human intervention could cause was nature. For example, William Wordsworth in Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey, “These beauteous forms…I have owed to them, In hours of weariness, sensations sweet, Felt in the blood, and felt along the heart…With tranquil restoration.”