Listen: Richard Weikart Reviews a New Book on Social Darwinism – Discovery Institute

Photo: Herbert Spencer, via Wikimedia Commons.

On a newID the Future episode,historian Richard Weikart (Cal State Stanislaus) dissects a new Cambridge University Pressbook on social Darwinismby Jeffrey OConnell and Michael Ruse. Weikart, author ofHitlers Ethic,From Darwin to Hitler,Hitlers Religion, andThe Death of Humanity, says that a major shortcoming of the new book is the authors attempt to put as much distance as possible between Darwin and eugenics thinking, and between Darwin and Hitler. Download the podcast or listen to it here.

The new book paints Darwins follower Herbert Spencer (pictured above) as the eugenics-championing bad guy and posits that Darwin and Darwinism had little or no influence on Hitlers warped master race ethic. Weikart patiently highlights some key evidence to the contrary, statements front and center in Hitlers writing. Did Darwin cause Hitler? No. Would Darwin have approved of Hitler? Almost certainly not. But according to Weikart, Darwins own racist and pro-eugenics thinking, combined with some implications of his theory that he himself explicitly recognized, manifestly did lay the groundwork for Hitlers diabolical outlook on the master race, the struggle for life, war, and eugenics.

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Listen: Richard Weikart Reviews a New Book on Social Darwinism - Discovery Institute