Abstract
This work is a comprehensive analysis of the activities of the most significant Western thinkers: Freud, Darwin, and Marx. Each of them had a special impact on Western civilization, making a great contribution to science and culture. They worked in different fields (psychology, biology, and philosophy), but in part, their ideas overlap. The achievements of these scientists are still relevant and are used in many areas of human life. Some of them, on the contrary, have lost their relevance due to the development of modern science. However, these ideas in any case became a pillar for the development of modern society.
Introduction
The history of human thought development is inextricably linked with those who have the most significant influence on it. In the course of history, more significant personalities, such as scientists, psychologists, and philosophers have constantly appeared. These professionals’ ideas are new and innovative for individuals living in contemporary society. When most people accept these ideas, it leads to a fundamental change in the social order. Therefore, it is crucial to understand who influenced people in history and where this led. Moreover, according to Tarnas (2010), “the cultural and intellectual history can serve as a preparatory education for the challenges that face us all” (p. 11). Indeed, by relying on experience, people can avoid their predecessors’ mistakes and use only the most useful and vital achievements.
Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, and Sigmund Freud are a few of the most notable examples of people who have had the most significant influence on Western civilization. As mentioned by Caplan et al., “the theoretical movements inspired by these men have fundamentally reoriented our modern understanding of biological nature, society, and the human mind” (11). These people worked in different fields, but each of them played a crucial role in their science. The purpose of this paper is to propose the main ideas of these scientists and; therefore, prove that their role in the development of Western civilization is substantial.
Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin is still one of the most well-known scientists in the world. Once, in 2010, “the historian of science Peter Bowler tried to imagine the world without him,” and it appeared meaningless and underdeveloped (White). Although his ideas proved to be revolutionary, now people understand that Darwinism is one of the keys to the understanding of biology. Born based on a generalization of the data of selection and domestication, Darwinism is considered to be the scientific foundation of practical selection. It is widely used in biomedical research and for the development of scientific methods for managing the evolutionary process in the conditions of modern civilization. Evolutionary theory played a critical role in developing the philosophy of dialectical materialism (Blancke and Denis). It still retains the importance of one of the leading areas in developing philosophical problems of natural science. The practical use of the evolutionary theory data in solving national economic problems includes many different directions. This includes selection work and regulating the number of biological species. Thus, the evolutionary theory contributes to people’s development of multiple methods for the optimal density of crops in agrocenoses.
The history of medicine also presents how fruitful were the approaches to the study of human pathology based on the principles of Darwinism. The successful development of research in such areas as epidemiology, medical genetics, and immunogenetics is unthinkable without using the principles of evolutionary theory. Most of the known diseases of humans, animals, and plants can be divided into four main groups: infectious, allergic, somatic, and social. The successful fight against the first three groups of diseases is directly or indirectly related to the knowledge of the causes and laws of living creatures’ evolution.
Darwin’s teaching was the first materialistic theory of the evolution of living creatures. Furthermore, his theory played a considerable role in substantiating and strengthening the historical view of organic nature. It gave advanced meaning and new goals to all biological sciences, such as the studies of the environment, ecology, genetic regulation, and molecular medicine (Mesoudi 7855). First, this theory substantiates the objectivity of the development of the organic world. Evolutionary development can be presented as a process of adaptation of organic forms to environmental conditions that are continuously occurring in nature.
Darwin always went into theoretical constructions from the facts of nature to the conclusions following from them. This feature of his evolutionary theory is manifested in its deep and organic connection with animal husbandry and plant growing practice. As a talented observer, Darwin saw things that no natural scientist had noticed before. He highlighted the dialectical relations between variability, heredity, and selection, although all three factors were separately already known before his work. Darwin proved that organic evolution depends on the interaction of all factors and that individually they cannot provide the evolutionary process. Evolutionary changes are expressed in the accumulation of small quantitative changes, but the result of these quantitative changes are qualitative changes. Thus, Darwin gave a causal explanation of the evolutionary process, revealing organic nature’s objective dialectics. In this connection, this theory is, in many respects, the key to the further development of not an only evolutionary doctrine in biology but also the whole of natural science.
Karl Marx
The influence of Marx’s thought on Western socioeconomic and philosophical thought is an extensive and complex topic. Interest in Marx as a philosopher comes mainly in the XX century (Vivek 357). This is due not only to the fact that many of his philosophically important works were first published in this century. His ideas and creativity gained importance primarily among the activities of other philosophers and scientists. They were responsible for the fulfillment of an essential, fundamental shift in the spiritual culture of Western civilization. The essence of this shift is diverse, but it is mainly associated with a radically different interpretation of consciousness compared to the tradition of classical philosophizing. In particular, the works of Marx have become a significant phenomenon among many studies on this topic.
People have concluded that human thinking is determined by many factors, partly overlapping with each other. These include innate mental categories, history, culture, social class, biology, language, and many other factors. As it turned out, one cannot rely only on reason as a source of accurate judgments about reality. The recognition of the deep mediation of all types of human spiritual activity was gaining increasing influence. In this light, the world turns out to be what rather deserves the name of a human project. It no longer seems to scientists, including Marx, a complex of objects that contains a complete meaning and order independent of people.
The openness, incompleteness, and semantic uncertainty of the new world prompts us to define the goals of human searches differently, directed to philosophy. In the development of new types of philosophical discourse, designed to consolidate these changes, Marx’s name appears to be one of the most significant. This explains the repeated bursts of interest in him among representatives of various philosophical trends – from existentialists to structuralists.
All this gave reason to speak not just about the influence of Marx’s ideas, but about the existence of the phenomenon of Western Marxism. It is possible to conclude that there is a lively interest in the philosopher Marx even in the modern world. It is also critical to understand that such interest is determined by the great importance of his general philosophical ideas. Even though they are associated with his communist utopia, they develop in an independent direction.
Sigmund Freud
Freud’s teachings had a significant impact on the development of modern culture. Without his ideas, it is difficult to imagine fiction, painting, cinema, and other human activity spheres. The most prominent representatives of post-culture and avant-garde often turn to the unconscious’s idea, trying to embody it in their works. Dadaism, surrealism, expressionism, the stream of consciousness literature, theater of the absurd, pop art, and many phenomena of postmodernism creatively transformed the Austrian psychiatrist’s ideas and often put a fairly serious emphasis on them.
According to Freud, eroticism is believed to be an integral part of human existence. This also began to be actively used in art culture and even in advertising. For example, advertisements often show a half-naked body on the screen or various erotic symbols such as brightly painted lips. Sex is entirely liberated and flourishes in all conceivable and almost unthinkable forms in everyday life and art. In addition, the Freudian idea of the compensatory functions of art provides a powerful lever for the development of modern mass culture. According to Freud, when perceiving such works, ordinary people who empathize with the heroes identify themselves with such art. Hence, people get rid of complexes and embody their dreams; in other words, compensate for the things that they cannot embody in real life.
Freudian ideas were equally influential in the field of the arts. Freud presented the initial paradigm for the use of psychoanalysis in the realm of literature and art (Reed 285). He gained many talented followers among philosophers, philologists, and art critics. The entire foreseeable history of literature, art, and culture has been revised and rewritten from the standpoint of psychoanalysis or methods based on it. Due to the Freudian methodology’s peculiarities, the authors of these studies began to pay serious attention to the biographies of writers and artists, their sexual side of life, and mental disorders.
The first major psychoanalytic work of Sigmund Freud, “The Interpretation of Dreams,” heralded a new era in the 20th-century culture. Along with Freud’s other works, it acted as a reference book for many literary and art critics (Turner 600). This book fed the creative imagination of artists of many avant-garde movements. Even now, the interpretation of dreams and people’s actions with their unconscious help is a relevant and essential activity.
Thus, summing up, it can be noted that the ideas of Sigmund Freud are one of the foundations of modern Western culture. The primary influence of Freudianism on modern culture is applying its ideas of the unconscious, the instincts of sex, fear, and aggressiveness. Thanks to these ideas, people can describe what is happening to them and those around them. In addition, Freud’s theories had a significant impact on various areas of art, emphasizing the importance of his works for humanity.
Conclusion
Undoubtedly, modern science goes beyond the achievements of Darwin, Marx, and Freud. People continue to study the world around them, put forward new concepts, and make discoveries. However, this would not have been possible without the strong foundation laid decades ago. In particular, these three scientists have created the basis for biology, philosophy, and psychology. Even with modern changes in scientific thought, people worldwide are continually referring to these authors’ works. This allows new ideas to be confirmed, refuted, or corrected. In addition, based on experience, it is possible to predict how science will develop in the future. Thus, it is proved that the importance of these three researchers’ work for modern Western science and society cannot be denied. It is thanks to them that people have the opportunity to develop now and predict future processes.
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