Social Darwinism

Fin de siècle
Themes
Works
People
Lasting influence

Social Darwinism is the study and implementation of various pseudoscientific theories and societal practices that purport to apply biological concepts of natural selection and survival of the fittest to sociology, economics and politics.[1][2] Social Darwinists believe that the strong should see their wealth and power increase, while the weak should see their wealth and power decrease. Social Darwinist definitions of the strong and the weak vary, and differ on the precise mechanisms that reward strength and punish weakness. Many such views stress competition between individuals in laissez-faire capitalism, while others, emphasizing struggle between national or racial groups, support eugenics, racism, imperialism and/or fascism.[3][4][5]

Social Darwinism declined in popularity following World War I, and its purportedly scientific claims were largely discredited by the end of World War II—partially due to its association with Nazism and due to a growing scientific consensus that eugenics and scientific racism were groundless.[3][6][7] References to social Darwinism since have usually been pejorative.[7][8][9] Some groups, including creationists such as William Jennings Bryan, argued social Darwinism is a logical consequence of Darwinism.[8] Academics such as Steven Pinker have argued this is a fallacy of appeal to nature.[10] While most scholars recognize historical links between the popularisation of Darwin's theory and forms of social Darwinism, they maintain that social Darwinism is not a necessary consequence of the principles of biological evolution.[11] Social Darwinism is generally accepted to be a pseudoscience.[12][failed verification]

Scholars debate the extent to which the various social Darwinist ideologies reflect Charles Darwin's own views on human social and economic issues. His writings have passages that can be interpreted as opposing aggressive individualism, while other passages appear to promote it.[13] Darwin's early evolutionary views and his opposition to slavery ran counter to many of the claims that social Darwinists would eventually make about the mental capabilities of the poor and indigenous peoples in the European colonies.[14] After publication of On the Origin of Species in 1859, one strand of Darwin's followers argued natural selection ceased to have any noticeable effect on humans once organised societies had been formed.[15] However, some scholars argue Darwin's view gradually changed and came to incorporate views from other theorists such as Herbert Spencer.[16] Spencer published[17] his Lamarckian evolutionary ideas about society before Darwin first published his hypothesis in 1859, and Spencer and Darwin promoted their own conceptions of moral values. Spencer supported laissez-faire capitalism on the basis of his Lamarckian belief that struggle for survival spurred self-improvement which could be inherited.[18] A proponent in Germany was Ernst Haeckel, who popularized Darwin's thought and his personal interpretation of it, and used to contribute to a new creed, the monist movement.

Sociobiology has replaced social Darwinism in attempts to explain human social behavior in terms of evolutionary biology.[19]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Riggenbach was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Williams, Raymond (2000). "Social Darwinism". In John Offer (ed.). Herbert Spencer: Critical Assessment. London; New York: Routledge. pp. 186–199. ISBN 9780415181846.
  3. ^ a b Claeys, Gregory (2000). "The "Survival of the Fittest" and the Origins of Social Darwinism". Journal of the History of Ideas. 61 (2): 223–240. doi:10.1353/jhi.2000.0014. S2CID 146267804.
  4. ^ Bowler 2003, pp. 298–299
  5. ^ Leonard, Thomas C. (2009) "Origins of the Myth of Social Darwinism: The Ambiguous Legacy of Richard Hofstadter's Social Darwinism in American Thought", Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 71, pp. 37–51.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference History was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Encarta was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Paul 220 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Hodgson 2004, pp. 428–430
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference pinker was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Dennis, Rutledge M. (1995). "Social Darwinism, Scientific Racism, and the Metaphysics of Race". TJNE. 64 (3): 243–252. doi:10.2307/2967206. JSTOR 2967206 – via JSTOR.
  12. ^ Haque, Omar S.; De Freitas, Julian; Viani, Ivana; Niederschulte, Bradley; Bursztajn, Harold J. (1 September 2012). "Why did so many German doctors join the Nazi Party early?". International Journal of Law and Psychiatry. 35 (5): 473–479. doi:10.1016/j.ijlp.2012.09.022. ISSN 0160-2527. PMID 23040706.
  13. ^ Bowler 2003, pp. 300–301
  14. ^ Adrian Desmond and, James Richard Moore (2009). Darwin's Sacred Cause: How a Hatred of Slavery Shaped Darwin's Views on Human Evolution. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
  15. ^ Eddy, Matthew Daniel (2017). "The Politics of Cognition: Liberalism and the Evolutionary Origins of Victorian Education". British Journal for the History of Science. 50 (4): 677–699. doi:10.1017/S0007087417000863. PMID 29019300.
  16. ^ Claeys, Gregory (2000). "The 'Survival of the Fittest' and the Origins of Social Darwinism". Journal of the History of Ideas. 61 (2): 223–240. doi:10.1353/jhi.2000.0014. S2CID 146267804.
  17. ^ Spencer, Herbert (1852). "4"A Theory of Population, Deduced from the General Law of Human Fertility". Westminster Review. 57: 468–501.
  18. ^ Bowler 2003, pp. 301–302
  19. ^ Drouard, A. (1 January 2001). "Darwinism: Social". International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences. Pergamon: 3222–3225. doi:10.1016/B0-08-043076-7/01857-X. ISBN 9780080430768.