CHG38: Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity
Unit Three: How are Targets Created?
Social Darwinism is a theory that competition among all individuals,
groups, nations or ideas drives social evolution in human societies. The term
draws upon the common use of the term Darwinism to refer to various
evolutionary ideas and ideas of "survival of the fittest", regardless of
whether or not they are related to Charles Darwin's theory of natural
selection which explains speciation in populations as the outcome of
competition between individual organisms for limited resources.
The term first appeared in Europe in 1879 and was popularized in the United
States 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.
"Survival of the fittest" is a phrase which is shorthand for a concept
relating to competition for survival or predominance. Originally applied by
Herbert Spencer in his Principles of Biology of 1864, Spencer drew parallels
to his ideas of economics with Charles Darwin's theories of evolution by
what Darwin termed natural selection.
Although Darwin used the phrase "survival of the fittest" as a synonym for
"natural selection", it is a metaphor, not a scientific description. It is not
generally used by modern biologists, who use the phrase "natural selection"
almost exclusively.
An interpretation of the phrase to mean "only the fittest organisms will
prevail" (a view common in social Darwinism) is not consistent with the actual
theory of evolution. Any organism which is capable of reproducing itself on
an ongoing basis will survive as a species, not just the "fittest" ones. A more
accurate characterization of evolution would be "survival of the fit enough",
although this is sometimes regarded as a tautology.
Date: _______________________
CHG38: Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity
Name: _______________________________
Unit Three: How are Targets Created?
Social Darwinism Worksheet
Read the article on ‘Social Darwinism (see reverse) and complete the following:
1.
What is Social Darwinism? How does it relate to and how does it differ from Darwinism?
/3
2.
When did the concept appear in Europe? In the Untied Sates?
/2
3.
Why would someone wish to connect the concept of Darwinism / evolution to a country or state
or class of people? Who would be advantaged by the application of this theory?
/3
4.
Where and when did the phrase ‘survival of the fittest’ come into prominence?
/2
5.
Why do you think that modern scientist avoid the phrase ‘survival of the fittest’ in favour of
‘natural selection’?
/2
6.
Why is the concept of Social Darwinism and ‘survival of the fittest’ an unfair comparison with
evolution and ‘natural selection’?
/3
Knowledge:
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