The Political Implications of Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection

Eugenics was introduced by sir Francis galton who, interestingly enough, was a cousin of Charles Darwin. It began as a way to better the human race and stop negative genetic traits from continuing on generation to generation. Eugenics may have started out as a way to better humans but it became something much worse.

History and literature have developed in a parallel manner, as organisms often co-evolve with each other. With the publication of Darwin’s groundbreaking work, the Origin of Species, a new group of people, the Social Darwinists, applied the theory of natural selection to social hierarchy. A most notable Social Darwinist, Herbert Spencer, coined the term “survival of the fittest”, implying that people in higher social groups were more “fit” to survive than those who were in lower social groups (Bannister, “Social Darwinism”). This idea of social evolution contributed to the dehumanization of people. More social theorists, scientists, and

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

To illustrate, the theory of evolution by natural selection is the process by which organisms change over time as a result of changes in heritable physical or behavioral traits. Darwin was the first to formulate the theory and alludes to the fact that given enough time and enough accumulated changes, natural selection can create an

I believe the view held by the author is one of unmistakable unbiased caution. In reading this article, the author, Hannah Lou, points out that although Sir Francis Galton, whose work was inspired by Charles Darwin, believed that, "the key to human progress would rest on a national program of better breeding . . . The chronic poor, the insane and feebleminded, and the ‘criminal

While the ideology had existed for quite some time, Sir Francis Galton was actually the first to coin the term “eugenics” back in 1883. The term “eugenic” roots back to the Greek word “eugenic” which means the improvement of offspring produced. Galton was most influenced by his cousin, Charles Darwin’s The Origin of

Eugenics, developed by an eminent scientist, Francis Galton, is the science of improving the qualities of the human species or a human population by controlling breeding to increase the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristic traits and decrease the occurrence of undesirable characteristic traits or genetical defects (Bergman, 2000.) Eugenic sterilization refers to the involuntary sterilization of certain categories of individuals without their need for consent by those subjected to the procedure (Pozgar, 2012, Pg. 411.) Individuals classified as mentally deficient, feeble-minded, epileptic, promiscuous, sexual deviants, or persons classified as habitual criminals were mainly targeted (Pozgar, 2012, Pg. 411.) Eugenicists argued degenerate traits tainted society through the reproduction of the lowest class and sterilization was to keep the "handicapped" from perpetuating themselves (Kaelber, 2014.) In addition, eugenicists also argued that "feeble-minded" individuals were believed to be financial burdens to society by overcrowding prisons, hospitals and living off welfare (Kaelber, 2014.) Sterilization was seen as a way to prevent the spending of tax dollars on the "feeble- minded" (Kaelber, 2014.) These arguments allowed Eugenics to become an acceptable practice. Advocates believed that getting rid of the "feeble-minded" and mentally deficient would decrease the undesirable characteristic traits within the human gene pool and ultimately improve the human population.

Spencer applied the principles of Darwinism to human social, political and economic issues and proclaimed that the survival of the fittest applies to human societies which became Social Darwinism. In John Offer’s “Critical Assessments of Leading Sociologists” he traces Spencer’s influence and dissects various points made by Herbert Spencer himself. He quotes Herbert Spencer when analyzing Spencer’s perspective of Social Darwinism. “The prosperity of a species is best supervised when among adults each experiences the good and evil results of his own nature and consequent conduct.” Spencer also states “It is much better that the ruminant animal, when deprived by age of the vigor which made its existence a pleasure, should be killed by some beast of the prey, than that it should linger out a life made painful by infirmities, and eventually die of starvation.” It is at this point that Spencer begins to cross Darwinism’s take on natural selection to social conditions. While Spencer is still speaking in reference of animals, he describes the death of animals as a means of relieving their pain and suffering. This is where Spencer begins to speak in reference to humans. “A sad population of imbeciles would our schemers fill the world with, could their plans last. A sorry kind of human constitution would they make for us – a constitution continually going wrong, and needing to be set right again – a constitution ever

Darwin wanted to further his studies in plant and animal life, and he also became interested in the similarities of plant and animal species to those of the human species. He noticed that humans too also had to develop new characteristics that would help them adapt to their environments. This made him want to look further into where humans came from and also question the idea of creationism. He argued that men are animals because they have to adapt to their surroundings just as animals do. He suggested that the stronger animals have a better survival chance and they produce offspring that carry this trait. A whole new population of species can derive from these offspring and traits that have evolved from older generations and species. This became known as Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.

In 1883, Francis Galton coined the term “Eugenics,” defining it as a “science, which deals with all influences that improve the inborn qualities of a race; also with those that develop them to the utmost advantage” in his essay Eugenics: Its Definition, Scope, and Aims (1). By promoting

A commentator on Galton’s text, H. G. Wells, suggests the idea of sterilization of inferior people in order to avoid the breeding of undesirable traits. He says, “...the eugenic proposition is very simple: superior persons must mate with superior persons, inferior persons must not have offspring at all…” (G446-48). Eugenicists adopt the role of nature herself by accelerating the concept of survival of the fittest. Wells explains, “The way of nature has always been to slay the hindmost, and there is still no other way, unless we can prevent those who would become the hindmost from being born” (G509-11).

Charles Darwin's theory of evolution centres on the idea that species compete to survive, and favorable characteristics are passed on from one generation to the next. Darwin said that evolution took place by a process of natural selection or survival of the fittest. This meant that the animals and plants best suited to their surroundings survived and were able to pass on their genes to their offspring. The ones that weren't best suited died off and didn't get the chance to reproduce.

The real source of Social Darwinism is Herbert Spencer an English sociologist who took Darwin's theory and applied it to how societies change and evolve over time. As a sociologist, he did not feel the need to improve society, for he felt that societies were bound to change own its own. He took the theory of evolution one step beyond biology and applied it to say that societies were organisms that progress through changes similar to that of a living species. It was his philosophy that societies would begin simple and then progress to a more complex form. He also found similarities between animal organisms and societies in that both had three main systems.

Charles Darwin broached the theory of natural selection in his book the Origin of Species, which has been considered the basis of evolutionary biology to this day. Natural selection is when populations of a species evolve over the course of many generations. Darwin believed that species were not created separately, but instead, species were derived from one another. In other words, the evolution of species creates many variations among creatures, and this is because all of those species came from a common ancestor, and characteristics changed to increase the species chance of survival.

Darwin and Evolution are inextricably linked in the minds of most people who have had the opportunity to study them in basic biology. However, Darwin's theories of selection and survival of the fittest have been applied to moral, economic, political, and other cultural aspects of society. Dennett briefly touched on some of the political and social ramifications of Darwin's theories in the final chapter of Darwin's Dangerous Idea. Other philosophers and thinkers have also adapted Darwin's evolutionary ideas, in order to apply them in a societal or cultural context. One great example of this adaptation of the biological concept of evolution, is the appearance of Social Darwinism during the 19th century.