Darwinian Ideas How Much Influence Term Paper

PAGES
3
WORDS
1000
Cite

" He exerted "little influence" on American politics, Trask continues, though Sumner "praised modern capitalism," believed that the doctrine of "laissez faire is just as applicable to society as it is to the economy," for, "the social order," Trask explains, "like the economy, is government by its own laws and logic of development."

Trask spends a good deal of his article insisting that Sumner's views are more like today's Libertarian views ("society does not need any care of supervision...society [just needs to be] freed from these meddlers..." e.g., big government, Trask paraphrases) than they are in the genre of Social Darwinism.

There may be some degree of truth to what Trask (by the very fact that he is writing in the Journal of Libertarian Studies he becomes in effect a PR spokesman, and clearly an advocate, for Libertarian politics) says about Sumner, but in the Columbia Encyclopedia - which paraphrases five respected books critiquing Sumner's life and scholarship), Sumner did follow Darwinian motifs and themes.

As a sociologist he did valuable work in charting the evolution of human customs - folkways and mores," the Columbia reference article explains. "He concluded that the power of these forces, developed in the course of human evolution, rendered useless any attempts at social reform."

He also authored the term "ethnocentrism," which is used to "designate attitudes of superiority about one's own group in comparison with others," the article on Sumner continues. But meantime, as to the question - "What ideas did Sumner take from...

...

According to an article in Society (McClay, 1995), he is best known for his "passionate defense of a progressive 'reform' Darwinism, the logical opposite to the laissez-faire 'social Darwinism'," which is attributed to his "arch-rivals William Graham Sumner and Herbert Spencer."
What stains Ward's reputation is that he is a one-time advocate for the "welfare state"; however, in this day and age, when "welfare" is looked down on, and cutbacks are more common than hand-outs, his legacy is not as glossy as Spencer and Sumner.

Sources Used in Documents:

References

Columbia Encyclopedia (2004). William Graham Sumner; Lester Frank Ward.

McClay, Wilfred M. (1995). The Socialization of Desire. Society. 32(4), 65-74.

Silberman, Richard. (2003). Herbert Spencer on Education - Prophet or False Prophet?

Journal of Education, 184(2), 85-123.


Cite this Document:

"Darwinian Ideas How Much Influence" (2005, February 17) Retrieved April 19, 2024, from
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/darwinian-ideas-how-much-influence-62122

"Darwinian Ideas How Much Influence" 17 February 2005. Web.19 April. 2024. <
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/darwinian-ideas-how-much-influence-62122>

"Darwinian Ideas How Much Influence", 17 February 2005, Accessed.19 April. 2024,
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/darwinian-ideas-how-much-influence-62122

Related Documents

Cultural and Climate Effects on Human Evolution Cultural group selection's contribution to the progression of cooperation among humans is intensely contested. A majority of human behavior impacted by culturally diffused philosophies (including religious views) does not seem adaptively sensible. Whether or not strong socio-biological reasons are available for explaining such behavior marks the focal point of arguments between sociologists and critics of sociology. There are, in theory as well as (possibly)

This, of all Darwin's contributions, was the most significant, Mayr reports. "The Living world," he says, "can [now] be explained without recourse to supernaturalism." An underlying implication of this situation was a kind of democratization of natural science -- a distribution of scientific knowledge that could be tested, verified, and explained by unscientific people. At the end of the article, Mayr asserts that "almost every component in modern man's belief

Taylor had faith that the best man for the job is to be chosen. He is required to possess the physical and intellectual qualities to attain the required output. However, it was up to the management to make it sure that the right people were chosen and trained. This forms the foundation for the quality circles. Operatives congregate to deliberate on work related difficulties, prove into the reasons and solutions

FACIAL EXPRESSION & EMOTION Psychology From the perspective of many psychologists, there is no set formal definition for emotion. We know that emotion is universal insofar as all humans experience and express emotion. There have been many studies, specifically over the past several decades that demonstrate that some emotions are expressed universally across time and culture. Just because there is not a universal definition for emotion, does not mean that there are

Darwin and Militarism
PAGES 9 WORDS 2493

Darwinism and militarism. Darwin' ideas will first be discussed, and the implications of Darwin's theories on society will then be discussed, particularly in terms of the development of eugenics, which was so influential on Hitler and his political and social aims. The paper will then look at how Hitler used his understanding of Darwinism, and how this in turn led to increasing militarism in the world. Darwin set out on

Gift giving creates a bond between the giver and the receiver. Mauss felt that to reject a gift, was to reject the social bond attached to it. Likewise, to fail to reciprocate is viewed as a dishonorable act in some cultures. Gift giving is a means to create social cohesion among the group. What Distinctive contributions did Weber make to social theory? Weber used his work to attempt to understand the