Was Hitler a Darwinian?: Disputed Questions in the History of Evolutionary TheoryUniversity of Chicago Press, 06.11.2013 - 272 Seiten 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. |
Inhalt
1 | |
2 Darwins Theory of Natural Selection and Its Moral Purpose | 13 |
Why Fodor Was Almost Right | 55 |
Mind Morals and Emotions | 90 |
5 The Relation of Spencers Evolutionary Theory to Darwins | 116 |
6 Ernst Haeckels Scientific and Artistic Struggles | 135 |
Fraud Not Proven | 151 |
August Schleicher and the Missing Link in Darwinian Theory | 159 |
9 Was Hitler a Darwinian? | 192 |
Acknowledgments | 243 |
245 | |
263 | |
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Was Hitler a Darwinian?: Disputed Questions in the History of Evolutionary ... Robert J. Richards Keine Leseprobe verfügbar - 2013 |
Was Hitler a Darwinian?: Disputed Questions in the History of Evolutionary ... Robert J. Richards Keine Leseprobe verfügbar - 2013 |
Häufige Begriffe und Wortgruppen
adaptations advantage Alfred Russel Wallace altruistic ancestors animals anti-Semitism argued argument artificial selection Aryan August Schleicher Beagle behavior believe Big Species Book biologists biology breeder Cambridge University Press causal Chamberlain chapter character Charles Darwin common descent contemporary creatures Darwin’s conception Darwin’s Notebooks Darwin’s principle Darwin’s theory Darwinian theory Descent ofMan edition Elliott Sober embryos environment Ernst Haeckel essays ethics evolutionary theory forms genera German Gobineau groups Herbert Spencer Hitler Houston Stewart Chamberlain Humboldt Huxley Ibid ideas individuals instincts intelligence Kampf kind language large number linguistic Lyell man’s Mein Kampf mental Michael Ruse mind moral morphological natural selection naturalists Nazi notion ofDarwin’s ofhis ofSpecies ofthe organisms Origin of Species Peter Bowler Philosophy pigeon principle of divergence problem produce races racial rejected Richard scientific simply social structure struggle for existence suggested survival theJews thought tion traits transmutation variations varieties vols volume Wallace’s Weikart York