Social Darwinism
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| - | '''Social Darwinism''' is a theory that competition among all individuals, groups, nations or ideas drives [[social evolution]] in human societies.{{Verify source|date=May 2008}} The term draws upon [[Charles Darwin]]'s theory of [[natural selection]], where competition between individual [[organism]]s drives biological evolutionary change ([[speciation]]) through the [[survival of the fittest]]. | + | '''Social Darwinism''' is a theory that competition among all individuals, groups, nations or ideas drives [[social evolution]] in human societies. The term draws upon [[Charles Darwin]]'s theory of [[natural selection]], where competition between individual [[organism]]s drives biological evolutionary change ([[speciation]]) through the [[survival of the fittest]]. |
| The term was popularized in 1944 by the [[United States|American]] [[historian]] [[Richard Hofstadter]], and has generally been used by critics rather than advocates of what the term is supposed to represent. | The term was popularized in 1944 by the [[United States|American]] [[historian]] [[Richard Hofstadter]], and has generally been used by critics rather than advocates of what the term is supposed to represent. | ||
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| While the term has been applied to the claim that Darwin's theory of [[evolution]] by [[natural selection]] can be used to understand the social endurance of a nation or country, social Darwinism commonly refers to ideas that predate Darwin's publication of ''[[On the Origin of Species]]''. Others whose ideas are given the label include the 18th century clergyman [[Thomas Malthus]], and Darwin's cousin [[Francis Galton]] who founded [[eugenics]] towards the end of the 19th century. | While the term has been applied to the claim that Darwin's theory of [[evolution]] by [[natural selection]] can be used to understand the social endurance of a nation or country, social Darwinism commonly refers to ideas that predate Darwin's publication of ''[[On the Origin of Species]]''. Others whose ideas are given the label include the 18th century clergyman [[Thomas Malthus]], and Darwin's cousin [[Francis Galton]] who founded [[eugenics]] towards the end of the 19th century. | ||
| - | Some{{Who|date=May 2008}} claim that it supports [[racism]] on the lines set out by [[Arthur de Gobineau]] before Darwin published his theories, which directly contradict Darwin's own work.<!--not according to the articles or sources such as D&M However, some academic critics hold that social Darwinism is a constructed concept, because Darwin originally wanted many of his findings to be translated into [[social policy]] (see [[Eugenics]] and ''[[The Descent of Man]]'').--> This classification of social Darwinism constitutes part of the reaction against the [[Nazi]] regime and the [[Holocaust]]. | + | Some claim that it supports [[racism]] on the lines set out by [[Arthur de Gobineau]] before Darwin published his theories, which directly contradict Darwin's own work.<!--not according to the articles or sources such as D&M However, some academic critics hold that social Darwinism is a constructed concept, because Darwin originally wanted many of his findings to be translated into [[social policy]] (see [[Eugenics]] and ''[[The Descent of Man]]'').--> This classification of social Darwinism constitutes part of the reaction against the [[Nazi]] regime and the [[Holocaust]]. |
| + | ==See also== | ||
| + | {| | ||
| + | | | ||
| + | * [[Altruism]] | ||
| + | * [[Antonie Pannekoek#Marxism and Darwinism|Antonie Pannekoek]] | ||
| + | * [[Cultural selection theory]] | ||
| + | * [[Eugenics]] | ||
| + | * [[George Chatterton-Hill]] | ||
| + | * [[Hypergamy]] | ||
| + | | | ||
| + | * [[Meritocracy]] | ||
| + | * [[Natural philosophy]] | ||
| + | * [[Ownership society]] | ||
| + | * [[Social ecology]] | ||
| + | * [[Social implications of the theory of evolution]] | ||
| + | * [[Sociobiology]] | ||
| + | * [[Universal Darwinism]] | ||
| + | |} | ||
| + | ==See also== | ||
| + | * [[Cultural elitism]] | ||
| + | * [[Cultural evolution]] | ||
| + | * [[Cultural selection theory]] | ||
| + | * [[Environmental racism]] | ||
| + | * [[Hierarchy]] | ||
| + | * [[Human development (disambiguation)|Human development]] | ||
| + | * [[Meritocracy#Social Darwinism|Meritocracy]] | ||
| + | * [[Scientific racism]] | ||
| + | * [[Social ecology (theory)|Social ecology]] | ||
| + | * [[Social implications of the theory of evolution]] | ||
| + | * [[Social progress]] | ||
| + | * [[Sociobiology]] and [[evolutionary psychology]] | ||
| + | * [[Supremacism]] | ||
| + | * [[Transhumanism]] | ||
| + | * [[Universal Darwinism]] | ||
| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
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Social Darwinism is a theory that competition among all individuals, groups, nations or ideas drives social evolution in human societies. The term draws upon Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection, where competition between individual organisms drives biological evolutionary change (speciation) through the survival of the fittest.
The term was popularized in 1944 by the American historian Richard Hofstadter, and has generally been used by critics rather than advocates of what the term is supposed to represent.
While the term has been applied to the claim that Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection can be used to understand the social endurance of a nation or country, social Darwinism commonly refers to ideas that predate Darwin's publication of On the Origin of Species. Others whose ideas are given the label include the 18th century clergyman Thomas Malthus, and Darwin's cousin Francis Galton who founded eugenics towards the end of the 19th century.
Some claim that it supports racism on the lines set out by Arthur de Gobineau before Darwin published his theories, which directly contradict Darwin's own work. This classification of social Darwinism constitutes part of the reaction against the Nazi regime and the Holocaust.
[edit]
See also
[edit]
See also
- Cultural elitism
- Cultural evolution
- Cultural selection theory
- Environmental racism
- Hierarchy
- Human development
- Meritocracy
- Scientific racism
- Social ecology
- Social implications of the theory of evolution
- Social progress
- Sociobiology and evolutionary psychology
- Supremacism
- Transhumanism
- Universal Darwinism
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