The author of the article doubts that this was Darwin's main motivation and cites Darwin's other works that show support for "a clear natural order of class, rank and race," and reminds us that "in human affairs [like the issue of slavery], battles are rarely won by evidence and logic."
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
"Darwin evolves into anti-slavery advocate"
This article from The New Zealand Herald discusses society's tendency to use and adapt Darwin's On the Origins of Species to fit its own ideals and goals (from Lester Ward's Reform Darwinism to Nazism) and considers a new theory put forth by Darwin biographers, Adrian Desmond and James Moore. In their new work, Darwin's Sacred Cause, the two claim that Darwin supported the theory that all races were of the same species to dispute the rationale of slave holders who claimed whites were a separate and superior species.
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It's interesting how this author notes Darwin's influence (or lack of) on the issue of slavery. It seems right on target because any person's belief can be supported with a variety of ideas, most are easily twisted and shaped. For example, when religion and predetermination was used to justify people with "less successful" lives; they were "predetermined" to live that way-- nothing could be done to help them.
ReplyDeleteThe same conclusion was drawn from Darwin's theory, however inaccurate it was.
I don't believe there was any goal to find the perfect species or claim that humans have to evolve more. Darwin simply found a process that explains the changes within a species that help them adapt.
The social arguments surrounding it, I believe, would have existed with or without Darwin's theory. It didn't spur from his discovery. The beliefs within social Darwinism and that one race is superior were inevitable. They would have derived from anything so as to find support for ones morals (that could easily be called into question).