The Language of Darwin

There are aspects of Darwin's On the Origin of Species that cause much controversy. Darwin did a good job to try to prevent as much controversy as possible by his use of language. He uses language that is non-wavering so that the reader feels like he knows exactly what he's talking about and believes what he is saying. If Darwin were to begin wavering in his reasoning or arguments then the reader might question him. He also repeats himself to reaffirm his message and he uses repetition as a writing tool.

Darwin backs up his works by several other naturalists. He uses some that agree and some that disagree and he attacks the disagreements head on. This gives people reason to agree with Darwin's views because they are presented with arguments and then the arguments are disassembled.

One of the major aspects of Darwin's On the Origin of Species which has been fought for and against is the Struggle for Existence. The Struggle for Existence is a survival of the fittest and only the beneficial mutations will survive. This struggle goes on all the time, everywhere in the world. Species evolve and will continue to evolve for as long as the world exists.

Distinguishing Darwin: how Darwinism is distinct from Calvinist work ethic

It has been argued that the language of Darwin in the origin of species is that of absolutes and is thus by definition, the language of extremism. Moreover it has been argued that this extremist language can at times analogous to that of religious dogmas such as the doctrine of Calvinism, or creationism. It is argued that such a charge would be terrifically ironic for Darwin, for he is attacking these doctrines for the very the same reasons. However, this charge is not a fair representation of Darwinism. Darwin includes in his theory a characterization of life as being a struggle full of suffering, and that life is to benefit from it. It has been argued that this is the same as the beliefs of Calvinism. Calvinism being a sect of Christianity which believes that individuals ought to live a life of hard work, and that salvation is earned through a life of hardship. While it may be that Darwin's characterization of life fits into the Calvinist work ethic, they are fundamentally different. Calvinism is making ethical arguments, of how one ought to live if one wishes to seek the salvation of Jesus Christ. Conversely Darwinism makes no claims of how one ought to live; that life is a struggle, and that this is ultimately to the benefit of life, does not mean that it is an ethical truth, or that it is how it ought to be. Thus, Darwinism and its position on the struggle of life, is fundamentally different from Calvinism, for while they share the position that life is a struggle which results in a benefit, they do so only superficially, for where Darwin is speaking of nature and what is, Calvinists are speaking of divinity and what ought to be, the virtues of a good life. They could not be further from each other.

Language of extremism- the tip of Darwin's sword

Darwin has used the language of extremism thought out his work " on the origin of species". This type of language has served him extremely well in term of promoting his theory of evolution through natural selection to the general public. The nature of extremism leaves no room for ambiguity and doubts. It carries such a punch that enable Darwin to shock him reader with his idea and force them to over throw whatever they used to believe. I personally think he has done a great job on using such language to allow him to obtain popularity among scholars as well as general public. He has certainly achieve his objective which is to be the first one to publish the theory and make it sounds as striking as possible.

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Darwin's mastery of rhetoric

I can absolutely identify with the way in which Darwin used language to frame his argument throughout his book. His use of theatrical, repetitive language to get his point across was necessary in order to sway people quickly. Framing natural selection as the ultimate force in nature which is responsible for the changes and competition within and between species would have been simple to understand for anyone who believed in God as his language evoked the same sense of grand universality that the Bible did. As this argument was geared towards the "everyman", Darwin's writing had to have been easy to understand as well as forceful and thorough in order to also please the academics. His mastery of rhetoric is still impressive today making Origin an exciting and convincing read despite all of its controversy.
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