Social Darwinism And Natural Selection

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.

“No Need to Call” by Sherry Turkle is an article written about the relationship people have with technology, and specifically with communicating via technology. How it has affected the way we want to interact with people, or how we end up interacting with people. This being due to social norms having changed when it comes to our way of interacting, such as the meaning behind making phone calls rather than texting. The article itself brings up many viewpoints as well as different opinions on the subject, plus a few pros and cons to show that certain things are not always to be seen as black and white. Technology has its advantages, but even the most tech savvy, devoted people have to admit that it has its disadvantages, brought up in this article. Examples are brought up with each point to

Social Darwinism is based off of Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection. He uses the concept of survival of the fittest. This was used to justify class distinctions and to explain the reason for poverty. Modern science declared that the failure to advance in society was due to the lack of self reliance and determination. They acted down on people who needed government aid. Even during the depression people still believed the notion that the poor were responsible for their fate. The idea of natural superiority was around since the Civil War. So much so, we thought it was okay to own human beings.

Instant gratification has become the social norm in this generation but is diminishing the quality of communication. Cell phones have changed massively in the past few years, making communication weaken each time cell phones are updated. At first, cell phones were just used for calling. Calling was the only operation that they were capable of and most of the time calling was not even convenient on a cell phone. Although the concept of texting has been out for decades, actual texting became available to all society in 1994 (Turrettini). Texting instantly

European nations along the west coast of Africa for 300 years have traded slaves, gold, and ivory. During the 1500-1800 Europeans in Africa would mostly buy and sell slaves. Europeans started to gain interest in the continent and shifted to imperialism, and started seizing colonies. What was the rationale behind strong European countries conquering weaker European countries. I believe the three main reasons were Social Darwinism, Economics, and Nationalism.

Already in the late 19th century, the American Federation of Labor had begun to represent a growing segment of the American population discontented with the status quo of corporate exploitation. At the onset of the 20th century however this message began to take particular weight, as evidenced by the tripling of the AFL’s membership and the rise of the Industrial Workers of the World. Labor unions, the Socialist Party and progressives as a whole took issue with the doctrine of Social Darwinism and moved forward as a somewhat united front with the goal of bringing meaningful change to American society.

I don't know a person that doesn't have a phone. Today you almost have to have a cell phone to survive and communicate with other people. We take advantage of what we do have and we focus on what we don't have. Texting is huge today. But as we go on there are more and more “latest and greatest” things coming out.

In her essay “No Need to Call,” Sherry Turkle makes the claim that smart phones, texting in particular, are having a negative effect on the way humans interact and communicate with each other. The issue of how smart phones are changing our social behaviors is important because it can potentially impact the future of the human race. With smart phones, computers and tablets, our society is entering into uncharted territory and we cannot be certain of how the outcome will change our social interactions. Figuring out whether or not these changes are negative or positive is a pertinent topic for all people because everyone is affected by these new technologies in their everyday lives, whether they have them or not. Turkle believes that the way we are communicating through these devices is starting to develop us into humans who are too reliant on impersonal forms of communication to the point that it is changing how we interact with others.

The aftermath of the Industrial Revolution left America’s economy and cities in a prosperous state. Immigrants flocked to the United States in search of the American Dream, and rising cities like Chicago thrived off of the meat packing and steel industries. However, the American Dream for many newcomers wasn’t all that it seemed; corrupt political bosses and machines ruled major city politics, making the working and living conditions of immigrants employed for these corporations unsubstantial. After going undercover in a meat packing plant, muckraker Upton Sinclair published The Jungle in 1906 to expose the repulsive conditions that the lower class worked in. An initial reading of this piece focuses strongly on the ideas of a capitalistic society

Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection, a scientific theory that supported the belief of evolution, was manipulated and applied to different areas of life, and thus it became the shaping force in European thought in the last half of the nineteenth century. Darwin, through observation of organisms, determined that a system of natural selection controlled the evolution of species. He found that the organisms that were most fit and assimilated to the environment would survive. They would also reproduce so that over time they would eventually dominate in numbers over the organisms with weaker characteristics. This new theory was radical and interesting to the scientific world but its effects reach far beyond this small institution of

Charles Darwin was an intelligent scientist back in the late 19th century. He was incredibly witty, with a specialty in biology. On the other hand, one occurring issue relating to Darwin, was that many took his scientific findings into social account. Social Darwinism was the result of this interpretation.

Hi Charlie, you made a lot of interesting points about this weeks topics. While I disagree with you on the potential impact of Social Darwinism on society, you make a valid point. This approach would in many ways accelerate the pace of some tasks. I simply happen to believe that this would also cause division. By doing so, I can only contend that this system would harm the harm a society more than it would prove beneficial. To your point about inherited discrepancies, I also believe that this is true. Without them, a society would lack change and diversity. By highlighting this in your take on the link between Social Darwinism and the theory of evolution, you did a great job of expressing your point.

Social Darwinism is the theory that humans live by survival of the fittest. If you’re weak and little you won’t survive as long as someone who is big and strong. If you are dumb you might eat some poisonous berries and die while someone who is smarter would not eat the poisonous berries so they would live. If you are stronger you will also be more likely to find a significant other and mate so you will pass down your genes, which is the whole purpose of living. This is seen all throughout the novel The Jungle. Jurgis is stronger and bigger than others so he immediately gets hired as compared to his father, who is little, old, and weak. His father wasn’t immediately hired because he doesn’t have the wanted skills and characteristics that are

“As a world view, Darwinism cannot of course be refuted, since Faith is, always has been, and always will be, stronger than facts. “ - Francis P. Yockey

Since the beginning of time, the human population has strived to live simpler lives. We have spent generations, creating innovations within technology to ensure our lives would always be more simplistic than those who lived centuries before us. People now have the ability to update their Facebook status’, map the human genome to target strands of DNA that can be disastrous to one’s health, send out amber alerts nationwide, and create plants that are resistant to pesticides. Many fields, such as medicine, law enforcement, and entertainment have benefited greatly from advancements in technology which has inevitably changed the way society operates. However, with the abundance of technology available, society has developed an unhealthy relationship where we now rely on technology too heavily. Technology has rendered our minds incapable of the ability to play, communicate, and live our lives in the moment, despite its positive additions to our society.