Michael Ruse on Social Darwinism: A Critical Appraisal

Contrary to what it seems to be, Social Darwinism is the result of Herbert Spencer's efforts rather than Darwin's. The advocates of social Darwinism used the idea of survival of the fittest, which was initially invented by Spencer, in order to analyze and explain social events and moral behaviors. Since Social Darwinism was a justification for removing the weak persons and boosting the survival of the rich, and also justified many of the great wars, including World War II, it has become a notorious philosophy, and many critics have tried to reject it. Michael Rus as a contemporary evolutionist and theorist of the moral philosophy, has reviewed Social Darwinism. The results of this review led him to a new evolutionary ethics. In this article we will introduce and review the social Darwinism from the viewpoint of Ruse. At the end, we conclude that common judgments about social Darwinism are hasty, and the critique of social Darwinism needs to think more.