Social and political influences on the theorey of evolution

* The theory had a negative effect on social life because Darwin stating that we had evolved from apes was such a ludicrous idea at the time that he was afraid that the public would denounce his work as heresy. * So he only hinted of the principle of natural selection. * Now he knew he had discovered a great truth. And he felt he had to tell the world. But he withheld the truth, for, it seemed …

…wrote a book. * Darwin's theory of evolution was, self-evidently, profoundly influenced by the social ideas prevalent in 19th-century Europe. * To put it another way, his theory was profoundly influenced by the entire socio-cultural fabric of a developing society. * Hence, Darwinism has not simply been confined within the bounds of a theory of biological evolution; it proved a major challenge to social ideas, too, becoming a philosophy that powerfully shaped the central elements of modern culture.