Scientific inquiry does not take place in a vacuum. It takes place in a social and cultural setting which, even if it supports the idea of scientific inquiry, may not support results that challenge accepted cultural norms or beliefs, at least not right away. Numerous scientific discoveries have been challenged and even held back because of opposition from political, religious, cultural, and even professional groups which felt challenged by some new discovery or idea. History shows many such instances, from the challenge the Church brought against Galileo to the continuing debate over evolution. Three of the seminal figures in the sciences in the last century have been challenged by a number of groups and belief systems, and cultural factors have influenced how the ideas of these three men have been accepted. Darwin, Freud, and Einstein created systems that threatened the old order and pointed the way to a new order of thought, and each encountered opposition and disbelief in varying degrees from scientific, religious, and other groups.
The degree of acceptance afforded the ideas of these men have been colored by factors such as religion and level of education among the general populace and by age for scientists wedded to earlier points of view. Darwin was a particular challenge to religious groups because his view of the evolution of species countered their view of God as Creator by fiat. Freud was a challenge to moralists and religious leaders who saw human beings as guided by reason alone and as being responsible for their own decisions. Einstein challenged much of astronomy and physics in his time and created some conflict between mathematicians and physicists over the meaning of the processes he described and the mathematical models he created.
For Sigmund Freud, human nature is hidden in the mind and is produced by "the irremediable antagonism between the demands of instinct and the restrictions of civilization" (...