Darwinism

(noun)

The principles of natural selection set out by Charles Darwin in the Origin of Species (1859) and other writings. These ideas were enormously influential, inspiring revisions of social scientific theories and shaping social and economic policy in the United States.

Examples of Darwinism in the following topics:

  • Reform Darwinism

    • Reform Darwinism recognized that the fittest could be those who cooperated with each other.
    • While Darwin himself chiefly used the term "Reform Darwinism" in its narrow sense for his own special purpose, he warned his followers against committing the error (which he seems once to have committed himself) of overrating its narrow meaning.
    • Social Darwinism has often been linked to nationalism and imperialism.
    • Darwinist Collectivism or Reform Darwinism, rather than the individualist form of Darwinism, are more accurate terms for these ideologies.
    • Describe the political movements inspired, directly or indirectly, by Darwin's work

  • Social Darwinism in America

    • American Social Darwinism held that the social classes had no obligation towards those unequipped or under-equipped to compete for survival.
    • Many such views stress competition between individuals in laissez-faire capitalism, while others frequently linked evolution, Charles Darwin and social Darwinism with racialism, nationalism, imperialism and eugenics, contending that social Darwinism became one of the pillars of fascism and Nazi ideology, and that the consequences of the application of policies of "survival of the fittest" by Nazi Germany eventually created a very strong backlash against the theory.
    • A different form of social Darwinism was part of the ideological foundations of Nazism and other fascist movements.
    • Names such as "Darwinian collectivism" or "Reform Darwinism" have been suggested to describe these views, in order to differentiate them from the individualist type of social Darwinism.
    • Burgess, and others developed theories of social evolution as a result of their exposure to the works of Darwin and Spencer.

  • The Social Problem

    • Science also played an important part in social thought as the work of Charles Darwin became popular.
    • Following Darwin's idea of natural selection, English philosopher Herbert Spencer proposed the idea of social Darwinism.

  • Populism and Religion

    • He was a leader of the silverite movement in the 1890s, a peace advocate, a prohibitionist, and an opponent of Darwinism on religious grounds.
    • After 1920 he was a strong supporter of Prohibition and energetically attacked Darwinism and evolution, most famously at the Scopes Trial in 1925.
    • Second, he saw Social Darwinism as a great evil force in the world promoting hatred and conflicts, especially the World War.
    • By 1921, Bryan saw Darwinism as a major internal threat to the US.

  • The Eugenics Movement

    • The Theory of Evolution made famous by Charles Darwin was used by English sociologist and anthropologist Francis Galton, a half-cousin of Darwin, to promote the idea of a human survival of the fittest that could be enacted through selective breeding.
    • Leonard Darwin, son of Charles, presided over the meeting of about 400 delegates from numerous countries – including British luminaries such as the Chief Justice Lord Balfour, and the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill – and served as an indication of the growing popularity of the Eugenics movement.
    • A half-cousin of Charles Darwin, Francis Galton founded field of Eugenics and promoted the improvement of the human gene pool through selective breeding.

  • Conclusion: Trends of the Gilded Age

    • Science also played an important part in social thought as the work of Charles Darwin became popular.
    • Following Darwin's idea of natural selection, English philosopher Herbert Spencer proposed the idea of social Darwinism.

  • Literary Naturalism

    • Naturalistic writers were influenced by Charles Darwin 's theory of evolution.

  • American Imperialism

    • In addition, the increasing influence of Social Darwinism led to the belief that the United States was inherently responsible for bringing concepts like industry, democracy, and Christianity to less scientifically developed, 'savage' societies.

  • The United States and the World

    • The concept of social Darwinism suggested that the US had the inherent responsibility to bring industry, democracy, and Christianity to societies considered to be "savage" because of their lack of scientific progress.

  • The Scopes Trial

    • Based on research in Charles Darwin’s 1859 book, On the Origin of Species, the theory contends that man developed over millions of years from other biological organisms, including apes (hence the nickname "Scopes Monkey Trial.")