PESIMISMUL BIOLOGIC DE LA FIN DE SIÈCLE ȘI ÎNCEPUT DE SECOL XX CONFLICTUL DINTRE RELIGIE ȘI ȘTIINȚELE POZITIVE
Biological Pessimism at Fin de Siècle and Early Twentieth Century. The Conflict Between Religion and Positive Sciences

Summary/Abstract: In the history of mankind, since antiquity, everything corrupts and degenerates, the biological degeneration of man being only one aspect of general decadence. The subject of degeneration has been adapted during the course of history to all tastes and visions. Thus, the idea of degeneration was take up again in the nineteenth century of course through a specific formula marked by scientific progress and cultural evolution. Concerning the Romanian space, even if the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century represented a cheerful period, from the perspective of some professional categories, the future (seen through the prism of a possible biological degeneration) seemed to be catastrophic and even apocalyptic. This paper illustrates the urgent concern of the elite to catch up with the West, but it will mainly focus on the postulate of degeneration, regeneration of the "Romanian element" in relation to religion and, last but not least, on the theme of the decline that was inserted in the updating of the cyclical scheme of history

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