Social darwinism

High school (ages 12+)
Philosophy & Big Questions

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Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/social-darwinism

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the theoretical basis?Misapplication of Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection to human societies
2. What is the key figures?Herbert Spencer (coined 'survival of the fittest'), William Graham Sumner
3. Why did people think government help was bad?They believed that giving money or rules to help people would stop the natural competition and make the society weaker.
4. How did Social Darwinism help countries take over other places?European powers used the idea that they were stronger and more fit to justify conquering other lands and treating the people there as less developed.

Natural Selection: The differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype.
Imperialism: The policy, practice, or advocacy of extending the power and dominion of a nation, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by the political and economic control of other areas.
Eugenics: The belief and practice of improving the genetic quality of the human population.