Darwinism stated by Darwin himself: Characteristic passages from the writings of Charles DarwinDarwin, Charles
Science
Darwinism stated by Darwin himself: Characteristic passages from the writings of Charles Darwin
Darwin, Charles
Evolution (Biology)
The belief in spiritual agencies would easily pass into the belief
in the existence of one or more gods. For savages would naturally
attribute to spirits the same passions, the same love of vengeance,
or simplest form of justice, and the same affections, which they
themselves feel. The Fuegians appear to be in this respect in an
intermediate condition, for, when the surgeon on board the Beagle shot
some young ducklings as specimens, York Minster declared, in the most
solemn manner, “Oh, Mr. Bynoe, much rain, much snow, blow much”; and
this was evidently a retributive punishment for wasting human food.
So, again, he related how, when his brother killed a “wild man,” storms
long raged, much rain and snow fell. Yet we could never discover that
the Fuegians believed in what we should call a God, or practiced any
religious rites; and Jemmy Button, with justifiable pride, stoutly
maintained that there was no devil in his land. This latter assertion
is the more remarkable, as with savages the belief in bad spirits is
far more common than that in good ones.
The feeling of religious devotion is a highly complex one, consisting
of love, complete submission to an exalted and mysterious superior,
a strong sense of dependence, fear, reverence, gratitude, hope for
the future, and perhaps other elements. No being could experience
so complex an emotion until advanced in his intellectual and moral
faculties to at least a moderately high level. Nevertheless, we see
some distant approach to this state of mind in the deep love of a dog
for his master, associated with complete submission, some fear, and
perhaps other feelings. The behavior of a dog, when returning to his
master after an absence, and, as I may add, of a monkey to his beloved
keeper, is widely different from that toward their fellows. In the
latter case, the transports of joy appear to be somewhat less, and the
sense of equality is shown in every action. Professor Braubach goes so
far as to maintain that a dog looks on his master as on a god.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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