While celebrations have emphasized the British naturalist's giant role in the advancement of human progress, British political journalist Dennis Sewell is not convinced. In a Q&A with the author of The Political Gene: How Darwin's Ideas Changed Politics, TIME wanted to know if we should reassess Darwin's legacy? His answers do not only support the notion, but he cites various examples of how the views of Darwin resulted in warped human thinking. According to Sewell:
What has the theory of evolution done for the practical benefit of humanity? It's helped our understanding of ourselves, yet compared to, say, the discovery of penicillin or the invention of theWorld Wide Web , I wonder why Darwin occupies this position at the pinnacle of esteem. I can only imagine he has been put there by a vastpublic relations exercise .
