In H.G. Wellsâs 1897 novel The War of the Worlds, England is invaded by monstrous Martians who have giant brains and virtually no bodies. The narrator speculates that these bodiless beings are a highly-evolved species that was once much like humans but had become more physiologically efficient with the aid of technology, eliminating the troublesome need to eat, have sex, or sleep. The energy saved from this increasing bodily efficiency was channeled into the creation of an intellectually superior race. This thesis argues that Wells developed his Martians as a critique of neo-Lamarckian socialists who employed the evolutionary theory of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck to argue that human nature could biologically evolve to become less competitive. Wells, who was dedicated to an interpretation of Darwinism linked to the social theory of Thomas Malthus, argued that human nature was fundamentally shaped by the bodily struggle for survival and would remain âobstinately unchangeable.â This thesis argues that Wells returns to the debate between Malthus and William Godwin at the end of the eighteenth century, drawing a parallel between the potential for human perfectibility proposed by Godwin and the ethical evolution of the neo-Lamarckian socialists. In doing so, Wells undermines the scientific validity of the latterâs theories by associating them with pre-Darwinian utopian speculation.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VANDERBILT/oai:VANDERBILTETD:etd-11222016-082932 |
| Date | 22 November 2016 |
| Creators | Braham, Kira Renee |
| Contributors | Vera Kutzinski, Rachel Teukolsky, Ph.D. |
| Publisher | VANDERBILT |
| Source Sets | Vanderbilt University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-11222016-082932/ |
| Rights | restrictsix, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Vanderbilt University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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