Herbert Spencer, Social Darwinism, Personal Thoughts

Social Darwinism is a term to describe the idea that humans compete for existence just like the rest of the animal kingdom. Darwin used this term to attempt to rationalize racism, capitalism, and imperialism. It simplifies the human’s desire for power. Now it is widely discredited and scrutinized because its a “ rejection of compassion and social responsibility.” (1)

Ronald Reagan made many economic decisions that supported his beliefs in Social Darwinism throughout his presidency. Social Darwinism is considered to be the ideas of struggle for existence and “survival of the fittest,” a term coined by Herbert Spencer in order to justify social policies. Over time the individuals with superior biological characteristics will dominate populations that this super species possessed. Couples who possessed these special qualities would then pass them down to their offspring, creating an elite generation in the modern world. Dominic Sandbrook the author of Mad as Hell, The Crisis of the 1970s and the Rise of

William Edward Burghardt Dubois is a man that has shaped and changed the world of Sociology. In 1903 He offers his own analysis of consciousness in his paper,Double consciousness and the Veil, he asks a question that could be said to be before it’s time. Simply, Can the self be more than one entity. Exploring the social world that is most accessible to to him, This is a world that is enveloped in oppression inequality many injustices. Being an educated man was not unheard of at the time but to be Black and educated man was not. Moreover, Living with this identity forces him to define his internal thoughts and feelings is such a

Social Darwinism was a slight distortion of Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection, which stated that species change over time because those with heritable traits that help survival are the one’s that reproduce. “Social Darwinists,” like Sumner, applied Darwin’s theory onto the human race, and then used it to justify his views in his article. He claimed that those in society who are powerful are innately better than those who are not, and their superiority is proof of this (Class notes

In this essay, I will discuss how the theories of John Stuart Mill and W.E.B. Du Bois, as presented in On Liberty and The Souls of Black Folk respectively, relate to the individual’s development and necessary conditions to thrive in modern society. I will focus on the goal of self-realization and development, or in other words, an individual’s pursuit to find meaning in their lives, and close with the authors’ directions for individuals to facilitate this pursuit for themselves and others. Both were concerned that dominant opinions in a society would prevent individuals from choosing new paths in life, instead of common ones, such as attending trade school in Du Bois’ time. The pursuit of self-realization is affected by society’s prevailing sentiment toward individuals who differ from perceived norm because the majority’s mindset affects the likelihood and ability of an individual to seek self-realization. In addition, the majority opinion can dissuade the individual from deviating from the norm at all, causing social and economic stagnation. This is in part the case because self-realization often involves some deviation from the norm, which is synonymous with Mill’s concept of “plurality of paths” (Mill 69), wherein the paths are deliberately unique and novel.

Social Darwinism is a theory that individuals, peoples, and groups are subject to darwinian laws of natural selection. Another way to describe social darwinism is survival of the fittest. The strongest and the smartest will survive. It is now largely discredited, it was advocated in the late 19th and early 20th century by Herbert Spencer and others. It was used to justify political conservation, imperialism, to discourage intervention and reform and racism. This theory was used to support the laissez faire capitalism and political conservatism.

McTeague The most familiar theorem associated in the novel McTeague is Social Darwinism, which is drawn from Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection. Social Darwinism is the application of the theory of natural selection to social, political, and economic issues (What is Social Darwinism). The concept interprets the “survival of the fittest” theory in which the most adapted will survive the natural conflict of social groups. In its most simplest form, this theory follows the conception that the “strongest will survive” and leads readers to distinguish the naturalistic premise of the novel.

Herbert Spencer was the most important Social Darwinist of the 19th Century. He was the first to begin thinking about evolutionist long before Darwin came out with his book on the "Origins of Species". He had many theories such as that everything evolves from one basic creature and then breaks off into more diverse species (Haberman (Hab.), 171). His theory was that social, political, and intellectual movements were caused by the development from the homogeneous to the heterogeneous. Spencer once stated, "If the advance of man towards greater heterogeneity is traceable to the production of many effects by one cause, still more clearly may the advance of society towards greater heterogeneity be

Social Darwinism is a quasi-philosophical, quasi-religious, quasi-sociological view that came from the mind of Herbert Spencer, an English philosopher in the 19th century. It did not achieve wide acceptance in England or Europe, but flourished in this country, as is true of many ideologies, religions, and philosophies. A good summary of Social Darwinism is by Johnson:

Furthermore, the denizens of society are tied to the rules of Social Darwinism, as they are subject to the same fashion of natural selection as animals in the wild. Instances demonstrating Social Darwinism, the notion that humans are subject to the same fashion of natural selection as animals in the wild while living in society

In Spencer (2008) article, he reflected his own views on the issues of oppression, power, and privilege as a person of color with his own personal experience. So, I decided also to reflect on my own views but not just as a person of color, but also as women. Growing up in a predominately black

Although Charles Darwin is usually just looked at in the light of purely biology, his work that impacted other fields such as psychology or his work that lead to the rapid expansion of certain fields such as ethology, is often looked over. Darwin’s work impacted these fields both directly and indirectly at such a level of influence that some people believe that psychology should be looked at as pre- and post-Darwin. On the Origin of Species, while being primarily about biological phenomena and theories, was one of these works that impacted psychology indirectly. Other than giving a new perspective for psychologists to possess when contemplating different ideas, Darwin’s work on natural selection lead to the creation of evolutionary psychology.

“For their point of view does not permit of a live-and-let-live kind of carrying on. It is a point of view that justifies itself by a whole hearted acceptance of the worst of Neo-Darwinism, the Allmacht of natural selection applied rigorously to human life and society and Kultur”(p.22, Headquarters Nights by Vernon Kellogg).

Herbert Spencer was an English philosopher and sociologist in the Victorian era. Spencer is a structural- functionalism theorist. He developed an extensive conception of evolution as the liberal development of the physical world, biological organisms, the human mind, and human culture and societies.

The first advocate of the social Darwinism theory had a major impact on the American society as a whole, starting from economic bases, to the big business minds of the time. In the United States, Spencer gained considerable support among intellectuals and some businessmen, including steel manufacturer Andrew Carnegie, who served as Spencer’s host during his visit to the United States in 1883. The most prominent American social Darwinist of the 1880s was William Graham Sumner, who on several occasions told audiences that there was no alternative to the “survival of the fittest” theory. Critics of social Darwinism seized on these comments to argue that Sumner advocated a “dog-eat-dog” philosophy of human behavior that justified oppressive social policies. Some later historians have argued that Sumner’s critics took his statements out of context and misrepresented his views.