JOHN FISKE
“Coligny” was Gaspard de Coligny, 1519–1572, the Huguenot fonder. “William the Silent” was William of Orange the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish, and Cromwell was the leader of the English revolution. All three were major figures in advancing the concept of individual freedom of the ordinary man and all three were profoundly influences by John Calvin.
Fisk realized the effect on man of his environment and social conditions, but made the mistake of believing that the normal evolutionary effects as a result of natural selection had stopped. As these changes are slow over many generations, they are hard to personally observe within a human lifetime. Also our effect on our environment changes the environment and that in turn often alters the rules under which natural selection operates. Evolution only stops when a species is extinct.
John Fiske was an American philosopher and historian.