Ruskin, Darwin, and the Matter of Matter

Abstract

Analyzes Ruskin’s reaction to Darwin’s theory, pointing out key places at which Ruskin’s view of the nature of reality differed essentially from his contemporary’s. Explains how, despite both being realists committed to describing nature accurately, Ruskin’s belief that matter always signified something non-material put him at odds with Darwin, whose deep probings beneath the surface of nature led to no discoveries of a world beyond the senses, something in which Ruskin believed passionately.