Darwin, science, and morality
There's a fascinating podcast over on Against the Grain about Darwin, Evolution, and Slavery. James Moore argues that Darwin's research into natural selection was motivated by his abhorrence of slavery. I won't blog about it at length as I'm grappling with chapter rewrites and a long to-do list, but it raised a few thoughts fI wanted to note:
- No research comes from a disinterested standpoint, and no research should. As Darwin said, "all observation must be for or against some view to be of any service."
- Darwin's ideas about slavery didn't come from nowhere - they were built on the work of other researchers, writers, thinkers. Political philosophers and others in the arts and humanities shape the direction of scientific research by framing and contributing to debates, which may be taken up in unexpected ways. Does reading 'the science' on a particular question give an adequate basis for deciding on the ethical and political implications of research in the area? (I suspect not.)
- Darwin was also inspired to act by political events, especially the Jamaican slave revolt of 1865. Social movements, uprisings, and other rebellions affect the path of scientific research (and often react to it).
The podcast is definitely worth a listen if you have any interest in the history of science, or in Darwin's work and life.
---------
Image from *clairity*. Phillis Wheatley was a slave, and America's first black poet.