Social Darwinism

Social Darwinism
   The application of the biological theories of Charles Darwin to society. Although the social interpretation of Darwin varied from country to country, for Adolf Hitler it became the core of his political philosophy. Hitler and the Nazi Party believed that the “struggle for existence” was at the core of human behavior, or what Hitler called the “granite foundation” of existence. In adopting the “survival of the fittest” as a component of his politics, Hitler professed his belief in brutal struggle, cruelty, destruction, and the right of the strong to rule over the weak. The ideology of National Socialism mirrored Hitler’s interpretation of Social Darwinism.

Historical dictionary of the Holocaust. . 2014.

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  • Social Darwinism — is a term commonly used for theories of society that emerged in England and the United States in the 1870s, seeking to apply the principles of Darwinian evolution to sociology and politics.[1] It especially refers to notions of struggle for… …   Wikipedia

  • Social Darwinism — Social Darwinist, social Darwinist. Sociol. a 19th century theory, inspired by Darwinism, by which the social order is accounted as the product of natural selection of those persons best suited to existing living conditions and in accord with… …   Universalium

  • social Darwinism — n. 1. the application, chiefly in the late 19th cent., of Darwinism to the understanding of human society 2. the body of political and social beliefs based on this; specif., the belief that individuals, ethnic groups, etc. achieve success or… …   English World dictionary

  • Social Darwinism —    An ideological trend widespread at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries advocating laws of human social and political development based on crude association with the laws of biological evolution theorized by… …   Encyclopedia of the Age of Imperialism, 1800–1914

  • Social Darwinism — a 19th century political philosophy which attempted to explain differences in social status (particularly class and racial differences) on the basis of evolutionary fitness. Social Darwinism is generally considered unscientific by modern… …   Mini philosophy glossary

  • Social Darwinism in European and American Thought 1860-1945 — (ISBN 052157434X) is an essay by Mike Hawkins published in 1997. It deals with the rise of Darwin s ideas and their applications to the individual and society following the publication of The Origin of Species . The subject of the book deals with …   Wikipedia

  • social Darwinism — noun Date: 1887 an extension of Darwinism to social phenomena; specifically a sociological theory that sociocultural advance is the product of intergroup conflict and competition and the socially elite classes (as those possessing wealth and… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • social darwinism — noun Usage: usually capitalized D : an extension of Darwinism to social phenomena; specifically : a theory in sociology: sociocultural advance is the product of intergroup conflict and competition and the socially elect classes (as those… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Social Darwinism — See Darwinism …   Dictionary of sociology

  • social Darwinism — noun A theory that the laws of evolution by natural selection also apply to social structures …   Wiktionary

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