Was Hitler a Darwinian? : Disputed Questions in the History of Evolutionary Theory

In tracing the history of Darwin’s accomplishment and the trajectory of evolutionary theory during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, most scholars agree that Darwin introduced blind mechanism into biology, thus banishing moral values from the understanding of nature. According to the standard interpretation, the principle of survival of the fittest has rendered human behavior, including moral behavior, ultimately selfish. Few doubt that Darwinian theory, especially as construed by the master’s German disciple, Ernst Haeckel, inspired Hitler and led to Nazi atrocities. In this collection of essays, Robert J. Richards argues that this orthodox view is wrongheaded. A close historical examination reveals that Darwin, in more traditional fashion, constructed nature with a moral spine and provided it with a goal: man as a moral creature. The book takes up many other topics—including the character of Darwin’s chief principles of natural selection and divergence, his dispute with Alfred Russel Wallace over man’s big brain, the role of language in human development, his relationship to Herbert Spencer, how much his views had in common with Haeckel’s, and the general problem of progress in evolution. Moreover, Richards takes a forceful stand on the timely issue of whether Darwin is to blame for Hitler’s atrocities. Was Hitler a Darwinian? is intellectual history at its boldest. "In tracing the history of Darwin's accomplishment and the trajectory of evolutionary theory during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, most scholars agree that Darwin introduced blind mechanism into biology, thus banishing moral values from the understanding of nature. According to the standard interpretation, the principle of survival of the fittest has rendered human behavior, including moral behavior, ultimately selfish. Few doubt that Darwinian theory, especially as construed by the master's German disciple, Ernst Haeckel, inspired Hitler and led to Nazi atrocities. In this collection of essays, Robert J. Richards argues that this orthodox view is wrongheaded. A close historical examination reveals that Darwin, in more traditional fashion, constructed nature with a moral spine and provided it with a goal: man as a moral creature. The book takes up many other topics--including the character of Darwin's chief principles of natural selection and divergence, his dispute with Alfred Russel Wallace over man's big brain, the role of language in human development, his relationship to Herbert Spencer, how much his views had in common with Haeckel's, and the general problem of progress in evolution. Moreover, Richards takes a forceful stand on the timely issue of whether Darwin is to blame for Hitler's atrocities."--The publisher's description Contents ......Page 8 1. Introduction......Page 10 2. Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection and Its Moral Purpose......Page 22 Appendix 1: The Logic of Darwin’s Long Argument......Page 54 Appendix 2: The Historical Ontology and Location of Scientific Theories......Page 59 3. Darwin’s Principle of Divergence: Why Fodor Was Almost Right......Page 64 4. Darwin’s Romantic Quest: Mind, Morals, and Emotions......Page 99 Appendix: Assessment of Darwin’s Moral Theory......Page 121 5. The Relation of Spencer’s Evolutionary Theory to Darwin’s......Page 125 6. Ernst Haeckel’s Scientific and Artistic Struggles......Page 144 7. Haeckel’s Embryos: Fraud Not Proven......Page 160 8. The Linguistic Creation of Man: August Schleicher and the Missing Link in Darwinian Theory......Page 168 9. Was Hitler a Darwinian?......Page 201 Acknowledgments......Page 252 Bibliography......Page 254 Index......Page 272 Tracing Darwin's accomplishment and the trajectory of evolutionary theory during the late 19th & early 20th centuries, most scholars agree that Darwin introduced blind mechanism into biology, banishing moral values from the understanding of nature. The standard interpretation is that the principle of survival of the fittest has rendered human behaviour ultimately selfish. Few doubt that Darwinian theory, especially as construed by the master's German disciple, Ernst Haeckel, inspired Hitler and led to Nazi atrocities. Richards argues that this orthodox view is wrongheaded According to the standard interpretation, the principle of survival of the fittest has rendered human behavior, ultimately selfish. Few doubt that Darwinian theory, especially as construed by the master's German disciple, Ernst Haeckel, inspired Hitler and led to Nazi atrocities. The author argues that this orthodox view is wrongheaded.