Throughout this essay I intend to investigate how Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution has affected the philosophies of Daniel Dennett and John Dewey, and whether this has been a major influence on their work. Having always been interested in Darwin’s Theory, I was curious to see its effects on modern philosophy. Having read Darwin’s Dangerous Idea by Daniel Dennett, I felt that it was a persuasive and detailed defence of Darwin’s theory, therefore prompting me to investigate further as well as looking at similarities between the two philosophers. Equally I found it significant as, in my philosophy lesson we were looking at religion and politics and the long-standing battle between secularism and religion. The influence of the Theory of Evolution has been greatly discussed since the publication of On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin in 1859. …show more content…
A great cause for argument are the implications The Origin of Species held for the human race in terms of religion, free will and morality and the fear that Darwinism could lead to nihilism . I hypothesise that the theory has become more influential over time and the works of Daniel Dennett will demonstrate this. Little has been made of the similarities between Dewey and Dennett’s evolutionary theories. It is my own belief that there is an affinity between Dennett and Dewey in spite of their obvious differences; Dennett is an analytic while Dewey is a Pragmatist. Dennett is a reductionist while Dewey is not. However, in my opinion, Charles Darwin and his Theory of Evolution heavily influenced