Ecology 249 Presentation

1. Ecology 249 Presentation By: Jerry Palacios

2. The Problem and Answer • Social Darwinism: Abuse of evolution or is this really what evolutionists thought? • Evolutionists did see the parallels of their theory of evolution in human society. This recognition became known as “Social Darwinism” • The objective of this presentation will be to demonstrate the belief that key evolutionists had in Social Darwinism

3. What is Social Darwinism • Population growth, limited resources and increased competition leads to a struggle for survival and selection of traits amongst all living things including humans. Certain physical, mental and moral variations give advantages and disadvantages in the struggle for survival and dominance.(Dickens,pg1)

4. Social Darwinists • Social Darwinists and Eugenicists are similar on some levels but also show clear distinctions • One example is given by Leonard in his article Eugenics and Economics in the Progressive Era • Eugenicists had a fear of “race suicide” during the turn of the century. A fear that the vast immigration of ‘lower races’ would out breed or out compete the ‘higher races’ like anglo-white Europeans.(Leonardpg209)

5. Social Darwinists • The Social Darwinists were more focused on the effects of the economy and the job market dictating selection of the fittest. • In the early 1920’s men like Henry Seager explained that setting a minimum wage protects deserving workers from the competition of the unfit by making it illegal to work for less. It would now be easier to differentiate people in society based on their characteristics and skills.(Leonardpg213)

6. Charles Darwin • Charles Darwin got inspiration from Malthusian theory. This tells us that his theory of evolution actually originated from an observation of human growth and limited resources. • His theory was socially constructed and came from observed social constraints and competition in humans.

7. Charles Darwin • Darwin’s reluctance: Wallace asked Darwin before publication of The Origin if he had plans to discuss human beings in his upcoming book. • “You ask whether I shall discuss ‘man’. I think I shall avoid the whole subject, as so surrounded with prejudices; though I fully admit it is the highest and most interesting problem for the naturalist.”(cited in Hawkins 1997:20)

8. Charles Darwin • Darwin’s Social Darwinism • The Descent of Man (1871) • Sexual Selection: Darwin saw men’s intelligence and muscular power and women's beauty as traits to select

9. Observations • “It is highly probable that man’s intellectual faculties have been perfected through natural selection.” • “Relics of extinct or forgotten tribes are all over the civilized regions of the earth.” Darwin says “even today civilized nations everywhere are conquering barbarous nations and they succeed, mainly through their arts which are the product of intellect.”(Darwinpg160) • This intellect is advantageous and is selected for in the conquering of savages.

10. Evolution of Intellect and Morals • “When progenitors of man became social they must have acquired instinctive feelings that would make them feel uneasy when separated from their comrades, for whom they felt some degree of love. They would’ve warned each other of danger and given aid in attack or defense. Such social qualities were no doubt acquired by progenitors of man through natural selection aided by inherited habit.”(Darwinpg162) • These social traits were selected because they were advantageous for survival

11. Morality in Savages • “High standard of morality may not give advantage to an individual or his offspring but advancement in the standard of morality will give immense advantage to one tribe or nation over another.”(Darwinpg166) • The progenitors of humans that were socially moral were selected for and outlived their competitors

12. Darwin’s ideas on Morality in the civilized man • Civilized man’s morals mostly work against the effects of selection. • Our instincts encourage us to sympathize for the weak and helpless. Our doctors use all their skills to save all of their patients until the end. • As humans we must live with the effects of allowing the weak to have as many offspring as they please. • I believe this is an important and advantageous quality though, because it has helped us become the most dominant species on earth.

13. Darwin’s ideas on intellectual advantages • “Ability must give an advantage” • “If members of society were divided up into two equal bodies, the one including the intellectually superior and the other the inferior there would be little doubt that the former would succeed best in all occupations and have a greater number of children.”(Darwinpg171) • “It is with the intellectual faculties, especially the more able men in society succeeding better than the less able and consequently increasing in number”(Darwinpg172)

14. Intellectual advantage cont’d • “When in any nation the standard of intellect and the number of intellectual men have increased we may expect that prodigies of genius will appear more frequently than before.”(Darwinpg172) • “There is apparently much truth in the belief that the wonderful progress of the United States as well as the character of the people, are the results of natural selection; The more restless, energetic, and courageous men from all parts of Europe having emigrated during the last 10 or 12 generations to that great country, and having there succeeded best”(Darwinpg179)

15. Darwin on Sexual Selection • Darwin gives his definition of sexual selection as “The advantage which certain individuals have over other individuals of the same sex and species in exclusive relation to reproduction.”[Darwin(1871),pg254] • “If the chief service rendered to the male by his prehensile organs is to prevent the escape of the female before the arrival of other males…, these organs will have been perfected through sexual selection, that is the advantage acquired by certain males over their rivals”[Darwin (1871)] • In many cases it’s difficult to tell the differences between the effects of natural selection and sexual selection

16. Francis Galton • An English anthropologist, evolutionist and explorer of the mid 1800’s • Cousin of Charles Darwin • An early quote of Galton’s showing his more extreme Social Darwinist Ideas • “Our present natural dispositions make it simply impossible for us to attain this ideal standard, and therefore the slavishness of the mass of men, in morals and intellect, must be an admitted fact in all schemes of regenerative policy. The hereditary taint due to the primaeval barbarism of our race, and maintained by later influences, will have to be bred out of it before our descendants can rise to the position of free members of a free and intelligent society.”(Galton pg74)

17. Francis Galton • During Galton’s time inheritance of traits is not proven but due to animal breeding almost everyone accepts that physical traits are inherited and many evolutionists assume mental traits are as well. • He came up with the theory of the continuity of the germ plasm. • He said there’s nothing in the embryo of an individual that was not in the embryos of it’s parents. This is very important in Galton’s work

18. Selection of Intellect • “More distinguished sons are born of mediocre parents than of distinguished parents because there are so many more mediocre people in the world.” • “One offspring in ten that is born to distinguished parents is going to be distinguished, but for offspring born from nondistinguished parents, only one offspring in 100 is distinguished.” (Pearsonpg75) • Galton was interested in the rate at which intellect is passed on. He decided that if we increase the fertility of the able and check that of mediocrity we should effectually alter the intellectual standard of our race.

19. Intellectual Mating • If people choose to only marry partners that are on a similar intellectual level as them this will eventually differentiate society . “Natural selection would act in the in the replacement of the higher group A for the lower group B. It will do this by putting pressure on the weakly men.” • Galton thought that if marrying between A and B was strongly disapproved and group A would marry early, and the “discouragement or postponement” of group B would be “agencies sufficient to eliminate B in a few generations” (Pearson pg79)

20. Francis Galton on Morals • “In strength agility and other physical qualities, Darwin’s law of natural selection acts with merciless severity, the weakly die in the battle for life; the stronger individuals are permitted to survive. Is there any corresponding rule in respect to moral character? I am prepared to maintain that it’s action, by insuring…a unity in the quality of the affections ,enables men and the higher order of animals to sympathize with each other and also that this law forms the broad basis for our religious sentiments. All higher order animal life depends on at least on or more of the following affection: Parental, filial and social”(Galtonpg82)

21. Alfred Russel Wallace • In January 1864 Wallace read his thesis “On the Varieties of Man in the Malay Archipelago.” He demonstrates his belief in humans evolution through natural selection. • Wallace argued that selection would cause “rationality and altruism to spread”(Wallace1864) • He thought that selection will come to focus more on mental and moral qualities and less on physical ones. (Fichman1981)

22. Alfred Russel Wallace • Wallace explains that if there is a struggle among tribes or nations the ones “that have foresight and self-restraint will have the advantage over tribes that do not have these qualities.” • He even goes on to say that he believed that “due to encounters with Europeans, savage men will inevitably disappear because of the Europeans’ intellectual, moral and physical advantages”.(Paul 2003)

23. Human Evolution • The archipelago is divided into the Austro-Malayan and the Indo-Malayan regions. Between these regions the humans have strong differences. The Maylays and the Papuans have many differences because of their separate evolutionary histories. • Wallace observed their separate evolutions in the trait differences. The Malays were short, had brown skin, with straight hair. The Papuan is taller had black skin, frizzy hair. They also differed in behavioral characteristics. “The Maylay’s were bashful, cold and quiet. The Papuan is bold excitable and noisy.(Fichman pg99,100)

24. Alfred Russel Wallace • In The Descent of Man Darwin gives the example of sexual selection among men(Darwin always had what we’d consider sexist views), but in 1890 Wallace gave his perspective involving women’s choices. • Wallace argued that women should be able to chose men with the best traits such as “intelligence, compassion, physical health”, and reject men who were “idle, selfish, violent.” He though this would be the best way to permanently effect human progress.(Fichman in Wallace 1890)

25. Later in life • In 1890 Wallace writes a review titled “Human Selection” By this time he is less of a Social Darwinist than he once was but still demonstrates his recognition of the process. • He says that he now believes that it is better for society to get rid of the lower types of members and that it is pointless to improve on the best qualities because there will always be “great and good men” This weeding out process has been the method of natural selection. “Survival of the fittest is actually the extinction of the unfit.”(Wallacepg337)

26. Resources • Darwin, Charles. The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex. Vol. 1. Bruxelles: Culture Et Civilisation, 1969. Print. •  Pearson, Karl. The Life Letters, and Labours of Francis Galton. Vol. III. N.p.: Cambridge at the UP, 1930. Print. • Dickens, Peter. Social Darwinism: Linking Evolutionary Thought to Social Theory. Buckingham [England: Open UP, 2000. Print. •  Fichman, Martin. Alfred Russel Wallace. Boston, MA: Twayne, 1981. Print. • Crook, Paul. Darwin's Coat-Tails: Essays on Social Darwinism. New York: Peter Lang, 2007. Print. • Paul, D. B. 2003. "Darwin, social Darwinism and eugenics." Pp. 214-239. In, Hodge, J. (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to Darwin. Cambridge University Press.  • Wallace, A. R. 1890. Human selection. Fortnightly Review. 48 (New Series): 325-337.

27. Resources • Wallace, A. R. 1890. Human selection. Fortnightly Review. 48 (New Series): 325-337. • Leonard, T. C. 2005. Eugenics and economics in the Progressive Era. J. Econom. Perspect. 19: 207-224.