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Differentiating Eugenics, Social Darwinism And Evolutionary Sociology

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Social Darwinism
After researching articles about natural selection, I came across one that elaborates on several thinkers. Social Darwinism is used to describe various theories of society that apply to biological concepts of natural selection and survival of the fittest to sociology. This article focuses on differentiating eugenics, social Darwinism and evolutionary sociology. Although, these three theories tie together there were many steps involved to prove W.G Runciman evolutionary thinking.
Sir Francis Galton believed in, eugenics, improving the genetic quality of the human population. Galton had in mind that slavery protected the high Athenian breed but he was persuaded that he could have the power to both better and damage the traits …show more content…

In 1998, W.G Runciman of Trinity College suggested the plan of ‘evolutionary sociology’ to the Darwin Seminar, which was a new phrase to most. His idea was canned quickly due to the fact that it did not go along with the rest in consideration for survival of the fittest. Herbert Spencer’s concept of survival of the fittest was important in the concern for the well being of others in the higher species. They thought of this as the pre-Darwinian prototype in which most modern social conditions multiplied the unfit. However a Professor Richard Lynn who argues in dysgenics, the study of factors producing defective or disadvantageous genes and traits in a particular population, thinks medicine and the relief of poverty causes a change in reverse selection and birth …show more content…

Kidd also gathered that socialism would lead to deterioration from looking over the continuous germplasm by a biologist August Weismann in the 1880’s. This germplasm was known to let the fittest survive and the selection would also cause the “unfit” to deteriorate. Social Darwinism was hard to decipher because it had two contrasting sides. Kidd, being an antisocialist, saw emphasis on the competition between individuals while socialist saw the struggle between groups. Charles Darwin, the naturalist, had in mind that the selection works by both the individuals of the same group and between joined species. Karl Pearson felt that Weismann’s germplasm was an unproven, informational theory and Kidd’s analysis of it was complex. There was confusion between all in which they had different sides to coming to the same

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