Darwinism and Militarism

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at the links between Darwinism and militarism. Charles Darwin's ideas are discussed. The implications of Darwin's theories on society are then examined, particularly in terms of the development of eugenics, which was so influential for Hitler and his political and social aims. The paper then looks at how Hitler used his understanding of Darwinism and how this, in turn, led to increased militarism in the world.

From the Paper:

"Darwin avoided discussing the theological and sociological aspects of his work, but other writers used his ideas in their own theories about society: the German philosopher Karl Marx compared the struggle for survival among organisms to the struggle for power among social classes; certain other writers referred to natural selection to justify the concept of the development of superior races of human beings, and scholars called social Darwinists used Darwin's ideas to promote the belief that people in a society - and societies themselves - must compete for survival (Coyne, 2003)."

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