Social Darwinism: Charles Darwin And Sigmund Freud
Throughout the span of history, new ideas and theories are constantly being discovered or altered as the human race learns and evolves. Often, these new discoveries contrast or directly contradict the theories and ideas present in society at the time. Great minds, generally also great men, are usually the instigators of such changes. Two such great men, Charles Darwin and Sigmund Freud, sent waves through Europe when they challenged religious and societal ideals of their times, sharing the common theme that humanity was not as pristine and favored by God as it had always believed it was, and implementing new ideas and practices that would change Europe.
When Charles Darwin published his book Origin of Species in 1859, he was changing the way …show more content…
Social darwinism propagated racist ideals and the idea of “the white man’s burden,” which was thought of as the duty to bring civilization to the uncivilized. This campaign was used to push forward New Imperialism, a period of colonial expansion, and was one of the primary arguments when it came to colonizing Africa and the exploitation of colonial people. Darwin’s theories prompted a new interest and push for the studies of heredity and genetics, not only because people were interested in researching Darwin’s ideas further, but also because they wanted to be sure of their racial superiority. This resurgence in the study of human evolution prompted the development of eugenics, which was founded 1883 by Francis Galton and Karl Pearson and, ultimately, Nazi racial ideologies, which were founded on the idea of a perfect …show more content…
Both men challenged society, but were not cowed by those that would oppose them, which allowed them to become essential cogs in the machine ensuring Europe’s own evolution on a large scale. Social darwinism, an offshoot of Darwin’s theory of evolution, became the backbone of new imperialism, and Freud’s method of psychoanalysis and his view of the mind would become the basis of mental health in Europe, and eventually the whole of the western world. If these men had not challenged tradition and gone on to blaze new discoveries in their fields, Europe would not be Europe as it is
When Charles Darwin published his book Origin of Species in 1859, he was changing the way …show more content…
Social darwinism propagated racist ideals and the idea of “the white man’s burden,” which was thought of as the duty to bring civilization to the uncivilized. This campaign was used to push forward New Imperialism, a period of colonial expansion, and was one of the primary arguments when it came to colonizing Africa and the exploitation of colonial people. Darwin’s theories prompted a new interest and push for the studies of heredity and genetics, not only because people were interested in researching Darwin’s ideas further, but also because they wanted to be sure of their racial superiority. This resurgence in the study of human evolution prompted the development of eugenics, which was founded 1883 by Francis Galton and Karl Pearson and, ultimately, Nazi racial ideologies, which were founded on the idea of a perfect …show more content…
Both men challenged society, but were not cowed by those that would oppose them, which allowed them to become essential cogs in the machine ensuring Europe’s own evolution on a large scale. Social darwinism, an offshoot of Darwin’s theory of evolution, became the backbone of new imperialism, and Freud’s method of psychoanalysis and his view of the mind would become the basis of mental health in Europe, and eventually the whole of the western world. If these men had not challenged tradition and gone on to blaze new discoveries in their fields, Europe would not be Europe as it is