Introduction
The Victorian era is a period that is marked by the reign of Queen Victoria in England, which lasted from 1837 to 1901. Researchers note that “Victorian England saw a great expansion of wealth, power, and culture” (Landow). However, even though there is a range of different achievements that were made in the 19th century, the aim of this paper is to study and summarize scientific progress.
Main body
The academic topics that prevailed during this era were the questions of natural laws and evolution. Initially, the theme of the evolution of animals and humans was considered ridiculous and even blasphemous since the idea of creational theology was widespread in Victorian society. However, several researchers have taken an interest in evolutionary biology; for example, Charles Darwin was the most famous scientist who contributed to the studies of evolutionary theory. In his book, On the Origin of Species, he presented a number of arguments about how living organisms are malleable and how they adapt to survive in nature (Wyhe). This idea challenged the Christian belief that everything, including humans, was created by God; moreover, some argued that even if Darwin tried to explain the origin of species, he failed to define the origin of life (Wyhe). Nevertheless, many other researchers, T.H. Huxley and John Tyndall followed Darwin’s theory, opposing natural science to religion.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it would appear that during the Victorian era, science underwent a critical change in perceiving the world through Christian beliefs and ideals. New discoveries seemed to object to previous views on the creation of the world. However, at the same time, science was pursuing the laws of nature and, thus, providing a number of works that created a foundation for modern science.
References
Landow, George P. “Victorian and Victorianism.” Victorian. 2009. Web.
Wyhe, John van. “Charles Darwin (1809-1882) gentleman naturalist.” 2020. Web.