Literary Darwinism and the Future of the Humanities

Literary Darwinism, a minor but emergent movement in the literary studies, has been both dismissed as philosophically naive scientism and celebrated as the basis for a new approach to the humanities. In response to this controversy, I argue the following: (1) Literary Darwinism needs to be understood in context as part of a much broader intellectual movement engaged with biologising both the social sciences and the humanities; (2) that the biologising of the humanities in particular has previously ignored but significant and synergistic linkages with another large-scale movement-the digitizing of the humanities; and (3) consequently, the transformative effects from both on the humanities will prove immensely significant.