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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A paper which investigates the phenomenon of social darwinism, with specific reference to Spencer and Josiah Strong, and considers the connection between social darwinistic theories and those of the Nazis and similar political groups. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: JL5_JLsocdarw.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
in The Origin of Species and other texts. In fact Social Darwinism traces its origins to the work of Spencer (1857), but in order to understand where Spencer gained his
inspiration, it is useful to look briefly at Darwins own theories. Darwin observed differences in structure between species of plants and animals which were
obviously related to one another, and deduced that these differences were connected to their ability to survive. He came to the conclusion that over the centuries, those organisms which were
best suited to the environment were more likely to survive and reproduce, and to pass on their characteristics to their offspring. This applied only to genetic characteristics, changes in which
were brought about by mutation: if a creature lost a limb through accident, for instance, it would not pass on this change to its offspring however beneficial it might be
to have fewer limbs. Darwin was under the impression that this process of evolution was slow, and progressed evenly; later theorists found that this
was not the case, since at some points in time there were quite rapid changes and at others, very little change at all for long periods. However, the basic principle
held true: creatures which could adapt most effectively to their environment had a better chance of their genetic material surviving. Darwinian ideas clashed head-on
with Christian dogma, which stated that all creatures were created at the same time and as separate species: one might observe variations within a species, over time (different sizes and
colours of rose bushes, for example) but one species could not evolve into another (a rose bush could never become an oak tree or a cactus).
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