Social Darwinism: Herbert Spencer and William Graham Sumner

1402 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essays on social darwinism

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. His ideas are based on the theory of Lamarckian inheritance by French biologist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. William Graham Sumner was influenced by Spencer’s work. Neither is Sumner always called social Darwinist. Some historians don’t believe that he actually believed in social Darwinism.
There are two different interpretations of the term social Darwinism. Generalists use this term in broader sense. They claim that Darwin’s evolutional theory inspired many different interpretations. They classify all evolutionary theories with even small connection to Darwin’s, as social Darwinism. This approach allows labeling Herbert Spencer as social Darwinist. On the other hand, Restictionists choose more strict definition. They limit the usage of the term to social theory that is based on the main Darwin’s concepts. Under this definition, Spencer would be considered social Lamarcksist.
Whether they are considered social Darwinist, evolutionary theorist or something else, their ideas influenced others and they both belong to the biggest sociologists. There are many others important thinkers. However because the length of this paper, I decided to focus only on these two. The first chapter introduces Herbert Spencer, his life and concepts. In the second one I introduce life and...

... middle of paper ...

...ism-pessimism-case-herbert-spencer-part-7 (accessed May 16, 2014).
• "Social Darwinism in America." Boundless Open Textbook. https://www.boundless.com/u-s-history/race-empire-and-culture-in-the-gilded-age-1870-1900/culture-in-the-gilded-age/social-darwinism-in-america/ (accessed May 16, 2014).
• Spencer, Herbert. Social Statics: Or, the Conditions Essential to Human Happiness Specified, and the First of Them Developed. London: John Chapman, 1851.
• Spencer, Herbert. The principles of psychology. Authorized ed. London: Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, 1855.
• Spencer, Herbert. The man versus the state: containing "The new Toryism," "The coming slavery," "The sins of legislators," and "The great political superstition". London: Williams & Norgate, 1884.
• Sumner, William Graham. Folkways: a study of mores, manners, customs and morals. New York: Cosimo Inc., 2007.

Show More
Related

  • A child Called It by Dave Pelzer

    2130 Words  | 5 Pages

    The World of Psychology. (2002). A Pearson Education Company. Boston, MA: Samuel Wood & Ellen Green Wood p. 593

    Read More

  • Freedom for Humanity, by Kalen Ockerman

    1143 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Social Darwinism." Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.

    Read More

  • William Graham Sumner – Social Darwinist

    1237 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sumner was the follower of Darwin’s ideas and Herbert Spencer’s, Social Darwinism. He is considered to be vigorous and influential social Darwinist in America. He was a professor at Yale College. He developed the concepts of Folkways, diffusion, and ethnocentrism. He is not as big as Spencer but his ideas were bold enough to be recognized. He played three important roles in the development of American thought, he was a great Puritan preacher, an exponent of the Classical pessimism of Ricardo and Malthus, and an assimilator and popularizer of evolution. He was able to build a bridge between the economic ethic set in motion by the Reformation and the thought of the nineteenth century.

    Read More

  • Evolution and The Island of Doctor Moreau

    1421 Words  | 3 Pages

    Michael Ruse, The Darwinian Revolution, pub. 1979 by The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637

    Read More

  • Social Darwinism and Social Welfare in the United States

    1245 Words  | 3 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Baddeley and Hitch’s Working Memory Model

    1141 Words  | 3 Pages

    Passer, M., Smith, R., Holt, N., Bremner, A., Sutherland, E., & Vliek, M. (2009). Psychology; Science of Mind and Behaviour. (European Edition). New York.

    Read More

  • Perspective of Aging: A Phenomenological Approach

    1115 Words  | 3 Pages

    Davis, S. F., & Palladino, J. J. (2003). Psychology. (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

    Read More

  • Psychiatric Treatment: Mental Disorders, Schizophrenia, and The Yellow Paper

    2076 Words  | 5 Pages

    Webb, Wilse. History Of Psychology. Theoretical & Philosophical Psychology 9.1 (1989): 44-45. PsycARTICLES. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • Recipe for totalitarianism

    1696 Words  | 4 Pages

    Thorndike, E. L. The elements of psychology. New York: A. G. Seiler , 1905. Print

    Read More

  • Social Darwinism, the Gospel of Wealth, and the Gilded Age

    649 Words  | 2 Pages

    Social Darwinism is a late 19th century term used to describe the application of British naturalist Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection to social and political conditions. 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. The term allowed people to rationalize capitalism, imperialism, racism, and even eugenics. The wealthy believed in social Darwinism because it allowed them to justify their oppressive business tactics and low wages for their labor force. Politicians believed in it because it allowed them to justify imperialism, or expansion of the nation. Affluent Anglo-Saxons believed in social Darwinism, believing themselves to be the superior race, and used it to justify ...

    Read More

  • Thre Views of Social Darwinism

    1702 Words  | 4 Pages

    The concept of Social Darwinism was a widely accepted theory in the nineteenth-century. Various intellectual, and political figures from each side of the political spectrum grasped the theory and interpreted it in various ways. In this paper, we will discuss three different nineteenth-century thinkers and their conception of Social Darwinism. The conservative, Heinrich von Treitschke, and liberal Herbert Spencer both gave arguments on the usefulness of competition between people on a global scale. The anarchist, Peter Kropotkin, refuted the belief of constant competition among members of the same species and emphasized mutual aid.

    Read More

  • The Relationship Between the Transactional Model, and the General Adaptation Syndrome

    1591 Words  | 4 Pages

    Gross, R (2010). Psychology: The science of mind and behaviour. 6th ed. London: Hodder Education. p188.

    Read More

  • Erikson’s End Stage of Development

    1290 Words  | 3 Pages

    Johnston, J. E. (2009). The Complete Idiots Guide to Psychology (4th ed.). Indianapolis, Indiana: Alpha Books.

    Read More

  • Charles Darwin's Scientific Theory of Evolution

    1295 Words  | 3 Pages

    Charles Darwin is well-known for his groundbreaking work on evolutionary biology. Among his many contributions, The Origin of Species is the most associated with his name. He introduces the scientific theory of evolution and suggests that species have evolved over a period of many generations through a process called natural selection. Darwin's theories have created much controversy among his colleagues and led to great amounts of debate. However, the massive amount of criticism directed at Darwin convinced him to make to revisions. As a result, his future editions would differ considerably from the earlier versions and he also responds to some of the issues people had with his theory in the later versions. Unfortunately, his adjustments had somewhat obscured his original argument, which is the reason of his first edition being the best representation of Darwin’s ideas.

    Read More

  • Freud and Darwin

    723 Words  | 2 Pages

    Darwin challenged the traditional ways of thinking by presenting his theory of biological evolution. Prior to the discoveries of Darwin, it was believed that every creature on earth was divinely and created specifically by God. Darwin’s theory presented that all life started from a single species. Part of this species would then randomly develop characteristics that were not found in some of the other members, and the adaptations would enable the species to survive or hinder it from surviving. Over time these changes would result in many completely different species that struggled for survival. The only creature that would survive would be the one that is most adapted via the random evolutionary changes. Changing the ways of thinking about religion, Darwin refuted the traditional thinking of religion as he provided scientific evidence stating how what many had thought to be true to actually be false. Darwin had also led to a shift in the thinking of human behavior. 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...

    Read More

More about Social Darwinism: Herbert Spencer and William Graham Sumner

Open Document