دانلود کتاب Darwin’s Racism, Sexism, and Idolization: Their Tragic Societal and Scientific Repercussions

Diogo, a multi-awarded biologist and anthropologist, addresses a critical question for the understanding of science, beliefs, idolization, systemic racism and sexism, and our societies in general: why has Charles Darwin been idolized in such a unique way, particularly by Western male scholars? Diogo shows that many evolutionary 'facts' included in Darwin's works on human evolution are inaccurate narratives based on Victorian biases and stereotypes that starkly contrast and contradict the mostly accurate, and often brilliant, ideas put forward by Darwin concerning non-human organisms: Europeans are superior, women are less intelligent, Victorian society was the pinnacle of evolution, and so on. Remarkably, it was the combination of Darwin's brilliant ideas, his use of catchy simplistic and often exaggerated metaphors that were easily absorbed by the broader public, and his social conservatism and biased ideas about women and non-European 'savages' that led to his idolization. Tragically, having one of the most famous and idolized scientists of all time portraying such sexist and racist ideas as "facts" subsequently provided easy ammunition for other scholars, populist leaders, misogynists, colonialists, and white supremacists to 'scientifically' defend social hierarchies, sexism, racism, discrimination, oppression, and segregation. Due to the widespread idolization of Darwin among Western scholars, few have ventured to openly discuss these darker societal and scientific repercussions of Darwin's work, and the ones that did often shield Darwin by arguing that 'back then' everybody was racist and sexist. Diogo deconstructs this argument in two ways. Firstly, he shows that the problem is not that Darwin was, personally, racist and sexist, but that he included unfounded, erroneous racist and sexist narratives in his books as if they were scientific 'facts'. Secondly, he provides enthralling details about works and travel descriptions that were also written 'back then' by prominent scholars such as Wallace and Humboldt and that praised the indigenous peoples that repulsed Darwin, and criticized the social hierarchies and Western imperialism that Darwin praised. The aim of this book is therefore to discuss Darwin's writings, their historical context, scientific accuracy, and repercussions in a broader and less biased way, without taboos, omissions, idolization, or demonization, because if we fail to acknowledge and emphasize the biases, prejudices, inaccuracies, and abuses of our past, and merely continue to blindly idealize it, the next generations will be condemned to undertake or suffer similar societal abuses in the future.