On 12 February, we celebrate the birthday of Charles Darwin, one of the most influential thinkers who ever lived, and one of Britain’s greatest scientists. To celebrate his life and legacy, an international coalition, including Humanists UK, campaigns for the day to be a public holiday and Humanists UK awards a Darwin Day medal at our national Darwin Day Lecture every year.
The obvious way in which the life and example of Charles Darwin calls out to us today is in his scientific achievements. By establishing evolution by natural selection as a central explanatory principle, he demonstrated that through independent thought, careful observation, and the gathering of evidence, the enterprise of science can revolutionise not just how we view the world, but how we view ourselves.
Darwin’s work didn’t just revolutionise science; it had a profound impact on religion and philosophy. While the ‘crisis of faith’ in the 19th century predated him, Darwin’s work on the fossil record and the immense timescale of the earth challenged literal readings of the Bible and the calculation that the earth was created only a few thousand years ago. Perhaps most significantly, his theory fatally undermined the traditional ‘argument from design’ – the idea that the intricate structure of living things required a divine creator. Darwin turned this idea on its head: it is not that organisms were designed to fit their environment, but that those not fitted to their environment failed to survive.
His discoveries ignited debates and discussions that continue to this day. Like Einstein’s, the face and name of Charles Darwin remain widely recognisable, with appearances in novels, books, TV, and film. He appeared on a beautiful Bank of England ten-pound note for nearly twenty years. But what stays with me most from a reading of Darwin’s works is his universal humanism. He rejected the narrative of human exceptionalism that gave humans ‘dominion’ over the rest of creation, recognising instead that we are biological beings, part of the evolutionary process.
His scientific discoveries led him towards an idea that is as much his legacy as the theory of evolution – a profound recognition of humanity as one:
‘As man advances in civilisation, and small tribes are united into larger communities, the simplest reason would tell each individual that he ought to extend his social instincts and sympathies to all members of the same nation, though personally unknown to him. This point being once reached, there is only an artificial barrier to prevent his sympathies extending to the men of all nations and races.’
That’s a beautiful moral sentiment, and all the better for being based in reason and observation as well as in sympathy and love.
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Humanists UK is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people. Powered by over 150,000 members and supporters, we advance free thinking and promote humanism to create a tolerant society where rational thinking and kindness prevail. We provide ceremonies, pastoral care, education, and support services benefitting over a million people every year and our campaigns advance humanist thinking on ethical issues, human rights, and equal treatment for all.