Sunday, August 07, 2005

Intelligence, Irony and Social Darwinism



"Don't make me come in there!"
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It is yet another irony that those who would use ID beyond its own scope (no pun intended) and would fight to disprove Darwinism, or at least undermine it, are at the same time model Social Darwinists themselves.

But before we continue we must delineate between Darwin's theories about physical evolution and those who then worked off those theories and applied them sociologically.

Thus the following quote:

It seems clear that Darwin felt that 'social instincts' such as 'sympathy' and 'moral sentiments' evolved through natural selection, and that these resulted in the strengthening of societies in which they occurred, so much so that "at some future period, not very distant as measured by centuries, the civilized races of man will almost certainly exterminate, and replace, the savage races throughout the world." (Descent of Man, ch. 6). Thus Darwin did believe that social phenomena were shaped by natural selection, although exactly how evolutionary pressure on individuals led to collective benefits is something that Darwin never clearly explicated. At the same time, Darwin did not hold the political views that many of those inspired by him would eventually affect.

(Wikipedia..hehe)
So let's be fair. Darwin had a rather optimistic view given the biological severity of natural selection.

Be that as it may "survival of the fittest" has become the modus operandi of those in power, and particularly our own government and its policies.

My own guess, and it is only that, is that Darwin would have hoped we had evolved, socially, to the point where "morality" and "sympathy" would lead to peace and not the bloodiest century on record.

It seems it backfired for him and even the current administration (like the American Puritans and others before them) are willing to ride any modified philosophy that will gain them superiority and power...even if it is modified Darwinism.

Go figure.

Now go read The Beatitudes of Jesus and weep...(Matthew the fifth chapter).

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1 comment:

tabitha jane said...

and he ends with a whammy ladies and gents