Name: Nor-ashia S.

Macabanding
Subject/Section: CPE102 Ee

Explain why is Herbert Spencer’s Educational theory called “Social Darwinism?”

Herbert Spencer

Herbert Spencer built on Darwin’s framework of evolution, extrapolating it to the Spencer’s of

ethics and society. This is why Spencer’s theories are often called “social Darwinism.”
Social Darwinism
Spencer is perhaps best known for coining the term “survival of the fittest,” But, popular belief
to the contrary, Spencer did not merely appropriate and generalize Darwin’s work on natural
selection; Spencer only grudgingly incorporated Darwin’s theory of natural selection into his
preexisting synthetic philosophical system. Spencer’s evolutionary ideas were based more
directly on the evolutionary theory of Lamarck, who posited organs are developed or diminished
by use or disuse and that the resulting changes may be transmitted to future generations. Spencer
believed that this evolutionary mechanism was necessary to explain ‘higher’ evolution,
especially the social development of humanity. Moreover, in contrast to Darwin, Spencer held
that evolution had a direction and an endpoint – the attainment of a final state of equilibrium.
Evolution meant progress, improvement, and eventually perfection of the social organism.

Social Darwinism is a loose set of ideology that emerged in the late 1800’s in which Charles
Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection was used to justify certain political, social, or
economic views. Social Darwinists believe in “survival of the fittest” – the idea that certain
people become powerful in society because they are innately better. Social Darwinism has been
used to justify imperialism, racism, eugenics, and social inequality at various times over the past
century and a half.
References:
Socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Book
%3A_Sociology_(Boundless)/013A_Sociology/1.02%3A_The_History_of_Sociology/1.2D
%3A_Spencer_and_Social_Darwinism

www.history.com/topics/early-20th-century-us/social-dariwinism