Social Darwinism Criticism

Social Darwinism was a set of theories developed by various people during the 19th century. It was the adaptation of Darwin theory of evolution applied to human social behavior and ability to survive compared to other human beings. It can now easily be seen that these theories could be used to justify racial discrimination and they have been used in this way throughout history. This misconception of Darwin’s theories popularized by various academics in the west gave western nations to treat other nations badly. People like French man Joseph Gobineau had already come up with race supremacy ideas before Darwin’s theories of evolution had started to become a popular idea.

Social Darwinists used evolution to justify laissez-faire capitalism, but not to the extent that traditional historians imply. Eugenics was a radical application of evolutionary principles to society, trying to build a ‘fitter’ race through direct measures. But Social Darwinism did not have the major influence on imperialism, militarism and nationalism which has been ascribed to it. Socialists were particularly taken by evolution, and far from it being self-defeating, Social Darwinism was used as a justification for socialism as a more evolved society. Darwin himself appeared to be a Social Darwinist, viewing society in terms of his own doctrine, judging from his writings.

Social Darwinism is term that is used for application of biological concepts of Charles Darwin to sociology and political science. The goal of this paper is to introduce two most known social Darwinists – Herbert Spencer and William Graham Sumner. Herbert Spencer is sometimes named as the founder of social Darwinism. However, labeling him as such is problematic. Spencer came with his concepts and with the term “survival of the fittest” before he got to know Darwin’s.

Synopsis of the Reading and Its Impact in History Patrick Geddes Revisiting Ideas Behind the Evolution of Sex During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, scientists armed with important discoveries and novel techniques began to reevaluate the theories of race and sex. One of the important thinkers of this time was the Scottish biologist Patrick Geddes. Like many other scientists of the time, Geddes applied Darwinian evolutionary theory to other non-scientific contexts. Although Geddes is more commonly associated with social ideologies such as economics, education, and urbanization, this examination will be limited to the impact of his ideologies regarding societal gender roles and sex-determination on society and the scientific community. The book entitled Sex, co-written by Patrick Geddes and J. Arthur Thomson was published in 1914 and concentrated on these issues of sex.

Both of these instruments of American society are in interconnected and independent. In order to comprehend the present state of these two forces, it is necessary to analyze more completely the meanings of Social Darwinism and Social Welfare. Every since Charles Darwin published the Origin of the Species in 1859, social scientists have attempted to explain human behavior as a product of natural selection. In the 19th century, Social Darwinism held that history was about the "survival of the fittest" and "superior" social groups were evolutionary more fit to rule the world. Social Darwinism was at the heart of many pernicious theories of the past century, including scientific racism and eugenics (Goldfield, et al, 1998, p. 721).

Although the Progressive ideal was presented by numerous Progressive authors of different genre, together they all presented the impact of the economic, political, social, and moral reforms of the American Society. The Progressive authors were arranged by challenges of which they offered their opinions, including psychological and sociological, economic and historical, legal, and religious. The first psychological Progressive author, William James laid the groundwork for much of the Progressive thoughts in his book, Principle of Psychology (1890). Throughout the book James challenged the fortitude and pessimism of Social Darwinists, by arguing that humans could control their own process of evolution. The other psychological author, Lester Frank Ward authored Dynamic Sociology (1883).

Darwin had brought about a revolution in historical thought that placed biology at it's center. With Darwin having such an influence on Marx's ideology, it is only natural that we compare their concepts to see, perhaps, where Marx was 'original' and where he was not. The scientific importance of both Darwinism and Marxism have their basis in a theory of evolution. One upon the domain of the organic world; the other, upon the domain of society. Darwin's theory essentially set out to answer the question: How did all these species come to be, where did they come from, and where are they headed?

Fundamentalist Christians believed that God created man in His own image, and that claiming mankind was simply an evolved animal was a direct assault on the Bible (Numbers, 1992). Furthermore, Fundamentalist Christians opposed Social Darwinism, and they established the Social Gospel movement, which attempted to create societal reform and alleviate some of the problems stemming from the Industrial Revolution (Schultz, 2016). This stood in direct contrast with Social Darwinism, as the Social Gospel movement tried to help those who were in need, as well as reduce poverty and prostitution (Schultz, 2016). Additionally, the Fundamentalist Christians opposed eugenics, as they believed that only God should determine who is and who is not fit to

Darwin’s theory was later applied to the human race, as many saw competition between both countries and companies. Known as Social Darwinism, it stated that only the “fittest” would be able to survive while the others would not. Leading to an imperialist point of view, it portrayed countries that were not a European power weaker, because they were not the fittes... ... middle of paper ... ...the mother’s love. These ideas led to a greater acceptance, as all people were to have these natural urges and desires. Freud altered traditional thinking through his studies of the human subconscious and how the mind works.

Late 19th century sociologist Herbert Spencer tried to capture the essence of social Darwinism with his phrase “survival of the fittest”. This essentially meant that the strong would rise to the top while the weak simply died out. Social Darwinists eschew social responsibility and compassion, instead believing that some people are more fit to survive than others. Many social Darwinists advocated that the government should maintain a laissez-faire, or hands off, approach when it came to regulating economic competition and alleviating social inequalities. Social Darwinism was used to justify the consolidation of the majority of wealth by a minority of Americans.