Welcome to the fray, Jaf. What's that mean?
One of the things I like about Quotes, is that they can speak so much to us. All the different things that a quote can be interpreted to be saying makes them really impactful.
One of the things I *don't* like about
quoting, though, is that I don't feel like I get a good sense of what the author was actually saying. All those impactful interpretations really cloud the message, in my experience.
So, for that, I look to context.
Darwin predicted that around about now "At some future period, not very distant, as measured by centuries, the civilised races of man will almost certainly (almost certainly, a favourite evolutionist interpretation of a proven fact) exterminate and replace throughout the world, the savage races"
Where can I find the context for that quote?
Still though, what do
you think Darwin's *point* was? What was he trying to say?
Rather non PC but since it's science might I ask how potentially modern day members of the savage races who survived Darwin's fascist racist blatherings particularly evolutionists, feel about this?
I think he was right, and it already happened. Prolly still is happening.
Further more might I ask why musings like this are not equally mocked as wistful fables?
Wait, did you thing that we'd think he was wrong?
"For my own part I would soon be descended from that heroic little monkey who braved his dreaded enemy to save the life of his keeper, or that old baboon, who, descending the mountains, carried away in triumph his young comrade from a crowd of astonished dogs - as from a savage... "
Darwin quotes from The Decsent of Man
Ah, now that one I could find. So let's look at the context:
quote:
The main conclusion arrived at in this work, namely that man is descended from some lowly-organised form, will, I regret to think, be highly distasteful to many. But there can hardly be a doubt that we are descended from barbarians. The astonishment which I felt on first seeing a part of Fuegians on a wild and broken shore will never be forgotten by me, for the reflection at once rushed into my mind - such were our ancestors.
These men were absolutely naked and bedaubed with paint, their long hair tangled, their mouths frothed with excitement, and their expression was wild, startled, and distrustful. They possessed hardly any arts, and like wild animals lived on what they could catch; they had no government, and were merciless to every one not of their own small tribe. He who has seen a savage in his native land will not feel much shame, if forced to acknowledge that the blood of some more humble creatures flows in his veins. For my own part I would soon be descended from that heroic little monkey who braved his dreaded enemy to save the life of his keeper, or that old baboon, who, descending the mountains, carried away in triumph his young comrade from a crowd of astonished dogs - as from a savage who delights to torture his enemies, offers up bloody sacrifices, practices infanticide without remorse, treats his wives like slaves, knows no decency, and is haunted by the grossest superstition.
Man may be excused for feeling some pride at having risen, though not through his own exertions, to the very summit of the organic scale; and the fact of his having thus, instead of having been aboriginally placed there, may give him hope for a still higher destiny in the distant future. But we are not here concerned with hopes or fears, only with the truth as far as our reason permits us to discover it. I have given the evidence to the best of my ability; and we must acknowledge, as it seems to me, that man with all his noble qualities, with sympathy which feels for the most debased, with benevolenvce which extends not only to other men but to the humblest living creature, with god-like intellect which has penetreated into the movenments and sonstitution of the solar system - with all these exalted powers - Man still bears in hid bodily frame the indelible stam of his lowly origin.
Okay, so the part you quoted:
quote:
For my own part I would soon be descended from that heroic little monkey who braved his dreaded enemy to save the life of his keeper, or that old baboon, who, descending the mountains, carried away in triumph his young comrade from a crowd of astonished dogs - as from a savage
...gets cut off mid-sentence. Here's the whole quote:
quote:
For my own part I would soon be descended from that heroic little monkey who braved his dreaded enemy to save the life of his keeper, or that old baboon, who, descending the mountains, carried away in triumph his young comrade from a crowd of astonished dogs - as from a savage who delights to torture his enemies, offers up bloody sacrifices, practices infanticide without remorse, treats his wives like slaves, knows no decency, and is haunted by the grossest superstition.
And yeah, geez, he really tears into those savages. I can see how you can see racism there.
But what is the point he is making?
quote:
Man may be excused for feeling some pride at having risen, though not through his own exertions, to the very summit of the organic scale; and the fact of his having thus, instead of having been aboriginally placed there, may give him hope for a still higher destiny in the distant future.
You might feel like you've earned the hand that you've been dealt, but really you just got lucky to land there.
quote:
I have given the evidence to the best of my ability; and we must acknowledge, as it seems to me, that man with all his noble qualities, with sympathy which feels for the most debased, with benevolence which extends not only to other men but to the humblest living creature, with god-like intellect which has penetrated into the movements and constitution of the solar system - with all these exalted powers -
And sticking strictly to the facts as observed, despite all the bias we have from being so awesome:
quote:
Man still bears in hid bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lowly origin.
We all came from those savages that he tore in to.
The point is that some people may seem to be of a lower quality than we think we are, but we all evolved through those phases. He's just contrasting "them" with "us" when he tears into them. It separates the reader from the group he's describing so that he can later say; 'but wait, you're actually in that group as well'. He goes on further to say that it wasn't anything that any of us did, to get us into this awesome group that we think we're in, we all just happened to land here by luck.
Now, can you see that the original portion you quoted, that you have to admit had been chopped up a bit, was made to sound more racist than the actual point that Chuck was making?
Do you think what he really was saying is as racist as you were originally interpreting it to be?
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