Western Civilization II / Unit 12 WC2 1108 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Social Darwinism: Spencer, Survival of the Fittest, and Race Made Biological
Captions available
The idea
Herbert Spencer turned Darwin into a defense of class and race: the rich deserved wealth by superior breeding, the poor their poverty. "Survival of the fittest" was his phrase, not Darwin's. Encyclopedias printed chains from apes through non-white peoples to Europeans.
In practice
The witness: "a pseudoscientific belief", Spencer its advocate.
Where people slip
The anchor's skull caption: human skulls do not differ by race.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
Unlocks
- 1109The "Unfit" and Eugenics
- 1110Durkheim, Weber, Ranke: The Social Sciences Founded
- 1122Anti-Semitism: From Medieval Exclusion to Race by Blood
- 1124Classifying a Claim: Science, Social Science, Pseudo-Science
- 1128Confidence and Fear: What Mass Society Believed About Itself
- 1515Nazi Racial Ideology: Creators, Preservers, Destroyers
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