LITERATURE - Charles Darwin episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 13, 2026 · 6 MIN

LITERATURE - Charles Darwin

from The School of Life · host tscol

Darwin liked to say he had thought of calling his book “the Ascent of Man” - but that that would suggest some idea of progress. Rather what he wanted to do was show that despite the obvious technical advances of past centuries modern people were still at the same moral level, or perhaps slightly worse, than their remote ancestors. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/qSQ9q Be more mindful, present and inspired. Get the best of The School of Life delivered straight to your inbox: https://t.ly/WjvSY FURTHER READING You can read more on this and other subjects here: https://www.theschooloflife.com/article/charles-darwin-and-the-descent-of-man/ "It is completely understandable that we are often maddened by what might be called ‘normal’ humanity. The way in which emotion so regularly triumphs over careful reasoning; the power of group loyalty, even when the group doesn’t seem to deserve much devotion; the vast mechanisms of status-seeking that drive so much excess consumption; widespread selfishness and indifference to the greater needs of more distant others. And we can find ourselves — in the privacy of our heads, or in the occasional late-night outburst — railing against the fools and idiots who (so unfortunately) seem to occupy so many of the prominent places of power, wealth and influence..." MORE SCHOOL OF LIFE Watch more films on LITERATURE in our playlist: http://bit.ly/TSOLliterature SOCIAL MEDIA Feel free to follow us at the links below: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ X: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-school-of-life-for-business/ CREDITS Produced in collaboration with: Zedem Media http://www.zedemanimations.com Title animation produced in collaboration with Vale Productions https://www.valeproductions.co.uk/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Darwin liked to say he had thought of calling his book “the Ascent of Man” - but that that would suggest some idea of progress. Rather what he wanted to do was show that despite the obvious technical advances of past centuries modern people were still at the same moral level, or perhaps slightly worse, than their remote ancestors. Enjoying our Youtube videos? Get full access to all our audio content, videos, and thousands of thought-provoking articles, conversation cards and more with The School of Life Subscription: https://t.ly/qSQ9q Be more mindful, present and inspired. Get the best of The School of Life delivered straight to your inbox: https://t.ly/WjvSY FURTHER READING You can read more on this and other subjects here: https://www.theschooloflife.com/article/charles-darwin-and-the-descent-of-man/ "It is completely understandable that we are often maddened by what might be called ‘normal’ humanity. The way in which emotion so regularly triumphs over careful reasoning; the power of group loyalty, even when the group doesn’t seem to deserve much devotion; the vast mechanisms of status-seeking that drive so much excess consumption; widespread selfishness and indifference to the greater needs of more distant others. And we can find ourselves — in the privacy of our heads, or in the occasional late-night outburst — railing against the fools and idiots who (so unfortunately) seem to occupy so many of the prominent places of power, wealth and influence..." MORE SCHOOL OF LIFE Watch more films on LITERATURE in our playlist: http://bit.ly/TSOLliterature SOCIAL MEDIA Feel free to follow us at the links below: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ X: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-school-of-life-for-business/ CREDITS Produced in collaboration with: Zedem Media http://www.zedemanimations.com Title animation produced in collaboration with Vale Productions https://www.valeproductions.co.uk/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

NOW PLAYING

LITERATURE - Charles Darwin

0:00 6:05

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of The School of Life?

This episode is 6 minutes long.

When was this The School of Life episode published?

This episode was published on June 13, 2026.

What is this episode about?

Darwin liked to say he had thought of calling his book “the Ascent of Man” - but that that would suggest some idea of progress. Rather what he wanted to do was show that despite the obvious technical advances of past centuries modern people were...

Can I download this The School of Life episode?

Yes, you can download this episode by clicking the download button on the episode player, or subscribe to the podcast in your preferred podcast app for automatic downloads.
URL copied to clipboard!