The Antagonism between Nature and Art and its Political Implications:

The Evolutionary Social Theory of T. H. Huxley

Abstract

In his ‘Evolution and Ethics’ T. H. Huxley formulates the antagonism between nature and art. In this formulation, human beings and society have in themselves both natural and artificial aspects, to which he attaches ambiguous values. This view is closely connected with his political argument in ‘The Struggle for Existence in Human Society’, which seeks the middle course between ‘Anarchic Individualism’ and ‘Regimental Socialism’. In his formulation, the antagonism between individualism and socialism is parallel to that between nature and art. It can be argued, therefore, that his middle-of-the-road politics is based on his ambiguous attitudes to nature and art.