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Abstract
In the second half of the nineteenth century, many people lost their faith in the Christian God. Nevertheless, they were eager to show that this move towards a secular world picture did not mean the end of morality and that it could continue as much before. In a Darwinian age this was not possible and the Christian cherishing of the virtue of meekness was replaced by a moral respect for vigor and effort directed both towards self-realization and to the well-being of society. We compare the British moves to those promoted by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. There are significant similarities but also differences that reflect the British industrialized notion of progress versus the German idealistic notion of progress.
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Search for other papers by Jeff O’Connell in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Michael Ruse in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
In the second half of the nineteenth century, many people lost their faith in the Christian God. Nevertheless, they were eager to show that this move towards a secular world picture did not mean the end of morality and that it could continue as much before. In a Darwinian age this was not possible and the Christian cherishing of the virtue of meekness was replaced by a moral respect for vigor and effort directed both towards self-realization and to the well-being of society. We compare the British moves to those promoted by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. There are significant similarities but also differences that reflect the British industrialized notion of progress versus the German idealistic notion of progress.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 817 | 445 | 41 |
| Full Text Views | 45 | 2 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 76 | 2 | 0 |
