Darwinism is the scientific theory that postulates that the evolution of species is generated from the natural selection of specimens, perpetuating itself through inheritance. The name theory derives from Charles Darwin (1809-1882), the English naturalist who developed it.
Darwinism is framed in Evolutionism, the doctrine that holds that changes in the genetic heritage of living beings through successive generations has produced the biological diversity that exists on our planet. All species, in this context, would have evolved from a common ancestor.
The novelty of Darwinism is the introduction of the idea of natural selection. In his work “The Origin of Species”, published in 1858, Darwin notes that evolution is linked to the differential reproduction developed by genotypes (the genetic information of a specific organism). Natural selection refers to the difficulty of environmental conditions hindering or promoting reproduction according to the characteristics of the organism. Thus persists in time that genotype that was able to adapt to its environment.
It is important to note that Darwinism is not really a single theory, but a system of interrelated theories that allow to explain the evolution of species. Initially, the notion of Darwinism was called as the opposite of creationism (the position that holds that God created each species through a divine act).
It is classified as social Darwinism,on the other hand, ideologies that promote the survival of stronger human beings as a method of evolution of society. This involves not attending and even trying to eliminate the most vulnerable social groups.
To ensure that only the most suitable group survives (and by group you can understand an entire nation, a social class, an ethnicity, etc.) it is necessary to face them in various competences, either for reaching certain positions or by the natural resources they need to survive.
The concept was challenged by author Joseph Fisher in 1877, to express that there was no evidence in Brehon’s laws (the Irish statutes that took effect until 1171) that such an evolution had existed in the Anglo-Saxon property system. Herbert Spencer, an English naturalist and anthropologist, formally raised social Darwinism through his work.
Spencer was the one who proposed the application of the theory of evolution in the social sphere, so we should not assign these ideas to Charles Darwin. In fact, some of the ideas that make up social Darwinism are believed to prey to Darwinism itself. For example, Spencer claimed to have been influenced by certain views from Lamarckism, the theory of evolution proposed by the French naturalist Jean-Baptite Lamarck, and Thomas Robert Malthus, a very prominent British scholar in the fields of demographics and political economy.
It is important to mention that Charles Darwin’s defenders and supporters not only try to disassociate this social concept from his theory of evolution, but also ensure that he did not favor social Darwinism because he believed that social policy could not support natural selection and the struggle for survival.
At the other end are many critics who claim otherwise, to the point of pointing out that Darwin never distinguished social evolution from biological; for example, in his work The Origin of Man,he himself quotes Herbert Spencer more than once, referring to him as “our great philosopher”, while suggesting an undeniable bond between evolution and the concept of society, where the strongest also survives.