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Wider Reading – Week 3: Science during the Victorian era
At the start of the nineteenth century most people believed the explanation from the Bible that the earth was
created by God. In fact, William Paley presented a theory (in the book Natural Theology 1802) that natural
objects such as humans and animals showed evidence of design. Paley presented nature as God’s creation,
and, as a result, the study of the natural world became comparable to the study of the Bible, because both
provided evidence for the existence of God.
However, the harmony between science and religion soon found itself under threat during the nineteenth
century s scientists began to believe that the world had been created by a process of evolution.
One such scientist was Charles Darwin. Darwin was a naturalist and studied variation in plants and animals
during a five-year voyage around the world. He explained his ideas about evolution in a book called ‘On the
Origin of Species’, which was published in 1859. His theory of evolution conflicted with religious views
that God had made all the animals and places on earth and caused controversy, igniting a simmering debate
within Victorian society between science and natural theology.
The theory of evolution states that evolution happens by natural selection. The key points are that:

Individuals in a species show a wide range of variation

This variation is because of different in their genes

Individuals with characteristics most suited to the environment are more likely to survive and
reproduce

The genes that allow these individuals to be successful are passed to their offspring. Individuals that
are poorly adapted to their environment are less likely to survive and reproduce. This means that
their genes are less likely to be passed to the next generation. Given enough time, a species will
gradually evolve.
Although many Victorians were fascinated by the strange new worlds that science opened up to them, many
thought his view on evolution, dangerous because it suggested that science had the power to create life.
In the novella, Jekyll and Hyde, the tension between religion and science is clear through the characters of
Lanyon and Jekyll. Whilst Lanyon prefers to keep science and religion separate because he deals with the
science of the material world, Jekyll, instead combines science and religion with his work leading ‘wholly
towards the mystic and the transcendental.’ This is why they have fallen out. Lanyon cannot cope with Jekyll
using scientific research to experiment with spiritual matters.
References
http://writersinspire.org/content/science-religion
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/21c_pre_2011/evolution/theoryevolutionrev2.shtml
Questions:
1. What was the name of the book Paley wrote and what argument did he put forward in it?
2. Using the information provided in the extract, summarise Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.
3. The writer states that many Victorians believed Darwin’s ‘Theory of Evolution’ was ‘dangerous.’
Why does the writer say this?
4. What is your viewpoint on the Science vs Religion debate? Do you believe that only God should be
able to create life or do you feel that we should use science to aid the creation of life? Explain why
you think the way you do.
5. What does the word ‘transcendental’ mean in the extract when it says that Jekyll’s work leads ‘wholly
towards the mystic and the transcendental’?
6. Imagine you are either Lanyon or Jekyll, construct a short letter explaining your viewpoint on their
approaches to science and why you disagree with them.