The Sociopolitical Implications of Darwin's Theory

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Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection is viewed by many as one of the most significant and influential ideas ever conceived. However it took Darwin 20 years to publish his book ‘the origin of species’, one of the primary reasons for this was that he feared the implications his theory would have on the world. Although the theory of evolution greatly enhanced and progressed science as well as deepen human understanding of nature, it came at a cost. The theory led to the development of Social Darwinism, which further created a variety of different sociological and political ideologies. One of the most prominent of these was the idea of eugenics, which emphasized improving the genetic quality of a race through artificial selection. The eugenics …show more content…

The purpose of eugenics is to aid the process of evolution through artificial selection in order to eliminate any unwanted traits and increase traits seen as more favorable in a population (Bowler 1984, p. 268). Positive eugenics refers to the idea that individuals deemed to be more superior should be encouraged to breed. Negative eugenics contends that the number children born from parents with lower abilities should be restricted in order to reduce the unwanted genes in a population over time. With the support of Mendelian genetics the idea of eugenics rapidly gain much influence around the world. This view suggests that hereditary or genetics were the only factors that determine a person’s character (Bowler 1984, p. 268). Herbert Spencer strongly supports this view, as he believed that it was futile to oppose evolution as no amount of education or social welfare can change an individual. In addition to this he further believed that it was immoral to try to help inferior individuals as he thought the elimination of the unfit was necessary for progress (Bowler 1984, p. 266). Thoughts such as these resulted in great injustice in many parts of the …show more content…

The Nazi’s believed that the ‘Aryan race’ were superior to all other races because they were the most evolved. They used the idea of eugenics to purify their race by killing anyone seen as inferior such as Jewish people and people with disabilities. The belief that they were superior helped them to justify invading Europe as they saw other races as inferior so they believed they had the right to world domination. Furthermore starting a war was seen as necessary to create conflict as it creates the survival of the fittest. This ideology resulted in World War 2 and approximately 60 million deaths. Eugenics also became influential in America when the American breeders association was formed. The purpose of this organisation was to protect the biological standards of the race (Bowler 1984, p. 275). Many people who were believed to show signs of hereditary weak-mindedness were sterilized in order to prevent them from breeding (Depew, 2010, p. 350). It also created fear of immigrants from other races, as it was believed that good traits would be blended with bad ones from other races and be weakened over time (Depew, 2010, p. 350). It was generally believed that poverty was the consequence of lesser ability so the poor were often targeted to be sterilized. The lower social classes were often less intelligent but this cannot be attributed entirely to genetics, they would often have

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