Social Darwinism

Biography
My Name is Geoff Levario. I am a student in Student Naturalist at Olathe North Highschool. I'm part of the Geoscience program. My preferred classes are science classes the top two being Physics and College Chemistry. My favorite teacher at Olathe North is Mrs. Reist. Also I'm trying to get into UCLA after my senior year for college.

Social Darwinism coins from Darwin’s phrase “Survival of the Fittest.” Many theories are based off of this phrase and some fall into each other or are similar. Many people morally correct or wrong have used Social Darwinism as an excuse. People such as Anglo-Saxons and Adolph Hitler to August Weismann and Walter Bagehot. Its described that life just isn’t survival of competition in the wild realm but also economically in human society. Social Darwinism was not created by Darwin himself but rather by Herbert Spencer and just shares the name Darwinism. It also does not exclude a reason to life, such as post-modernism which removes any reason to live because there’s no point, rather it just does not have the sufficient information to solve it.
The theories are built on many great thinkers wether they be shameful or appreciated of the 1800s and 1900s. Herbert Spencer being one of the early founders after reading Darwin’s On the Origin of Species applied the idea to human economy. Or used by Hitler to start mass genocides against “lesser races” and the survival of Aryans. People such Franz Boas, Margaret Mead, and Ruth Benedict discredit the idea of Social Darwinism saying a humans culture is different from that of the animal world.
Hereditarianism is one of the first forms of Social Darwinism created by Sir Francis Galton. It argued that in humans the genes inherited by your parents is more important than that of the environment. A persons personality and intelligence is dependent on genes, and was discredited by biologists at the time. It opposed the ideas of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, which said the environment can invoke physical changes on a persons body to better adapt to it. Later on August Weismann allowed Hereditarianism to gain more credit when argued that a person’s characteristics are genetics.
Another theory created by Walter Bagehot was The Struggle School. Which described that nations were the evolution of social groups. Stating that a nation could be created by winning wars with other groups and growing larger from succeeding. Many people believed that it justified imperialism. Alfred Thayer Mahan, a naval strategist, believed that it was a means to create a stronger military forces to have a larger expansion into foreign lands. This idea seemingly similar to Manifest Destiny, showing how the U.S.A. took over the Western half the North America because it was there right too. But in a way it’s similar because it’s a growing military force that’s expanding into foreign territory.
Eugenics, or superiority of a race or group, is the theory of Reform Darwinism. It also stepped in the light of a political change. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., a Supreme Court Justice, stated that the Constitution should be changed while the United States and it’s circumstances changes with it. National Socialism and Anglo-Saxons are two major groups who fell under Eugenics. National Socialism started by Adolph Hitler believed that Aryans were the supreme and superior race over all races. The same thought process of Anglo-Saxons believing their tribes were the top tribes.
Even in the 20th Century Social Darwinism still existed. From around the 1910's to the 1940's it widely lost support. Anthropology was making major advances that discredited the idea. Also because of Hitler and his radical National Socialists, the theories were being blamed for his scarring of the world. Anthropologists were discrediting it by stating that humans culture was different from the animals. Recent breakthroughs in genetics discredited the idea of eugenics. After 1953 Francis Crick and James Watson, both biologists, renewed the idea of Social Darwinism. By describing the structure of the DNA system and how it sets up humans, and there aggression, mating selections, and other characteristics. An American Psychologist, Richard J. Herrnstein, also revived the theory by arguing human intelligence is affected by there biological history rather than that of there environment.
Plenty of groups or singular people disagree with Social Darwinism. Some being that they disagree with there idea wholly or they disagree because some of their beliefs. Pyotr Alekseyevich Kropotkin, a prince and anarchist, believed that people didn’t have to fight for survival but instead work together as one. Many of his views were anarchist in the belief that society should be communist with no controlling power but unity. Post-modernism also disagreed with Social Darwinism, notably because the idea of post modernism is that there is no greater meaning to life for all. Anthropology has made many attempts at discrediting Social Darwinism ever since its creation and succeeded for a little bit. Anthropology attempts to disprove by stating that human culture is different from that of animals. Even though genetics and DNA proves that humans are affected by it more than the environment.
In the end, Social Darwinism doesn’t really disprove religion nor evolution. Instead using Darwin’s own though of survival of the fittest, it proves that people survive on there own terms and rules compared to that of animals. Not just do we fight for mating rights with the opposite sex or to live. We also go deeper on who is better by flaunting muscles, personality, or money. We dive deeper into what can prove is strength. Economically one is superior to another and some people believe the poor and homeless are unnecessary because of that ideal. In a way Social Darwinism is just an outlook on life and how humans live it.

This is Sir Francis Galton who came up with the theory Hereditarianism.


This is Charles Darwin, the guy who came up with the term that Social Darwinism is based off of.


This is Prince Kropotkin the anarchist.


This is Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. the Supreme Court Justice.


This is Herbert Spencer one of the first theorists of Social Darwinism.



Sites Used.
Social Darwinism Page
Post Modernism
Encarta Social Darwinism
Evolution and Philosophy
Herbert Spencer