Darwin must not be Associated with Hitler
Posted on September 27, 2006
Hitler’s attachment to eugenics is surely one of the best known things about him. And that eugenics (deliberate selection) is a pretty obvious extension of Darwin’s ideas about natural selection should not strain too many brains. Wanting to speed up a beneficial natural process was seen as kind and wise by most Leftists — including American Leftists — in the 1930s. See here
But a Christian TV program pointing to the connection between the ideas of Darwin and Hitler evoked lots of attacks even before it was aired last month. You must not bad-mouth Darwin, apparently.
Curiously, one of the chief attackers was Abe Foxman of the ADL. Rabbi Lapin points out how curious that is. Jews too believe that the world is a product of creation rather than of evolution so they surely have no particular brief for Darwin. Rabbi Lapin suggests that it is the anachronistic hatred that some Jews still feel towards Christians that lies behind Foxman’s attack. Foxman often seems to side with the ACLU so that fits.
Above post crossposted from Tongue Tied
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7 Responses to “Darwin must not be Associated with Hitler”
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Syndicate Me
A Jew may be an atheist and still refer to them selves as a Jew because it also refers to race as well as religion. Even if Abe Forman is a religious Jew there are at least four different sects of which one basically believes God is a force and not an individual. It is an idea that seems to be common in those who claim to Christians as well.
“And that eugenics (deliberate selection) is a pretty obvious extension of Darwin’s ideas about natural selection should not strain too many brains.”
Actually, its not. Deliberate selection implies a creator, an intelligence. Thats what the wingnuts want. What Darwin argues for is natural selection.
I will not get into the Hitler/Darwin connection, but if believing in an intelligent creator makes me a wingnut then so be it. I find it much more difficult to believe in some random, meaningless development of life from non-living things than to believe intelligent life was born from intelligence.
I don’t believe that Charles Darwin would have backed up Hitler’s version of eugenics but at least some of his words would seem to do so. He wrote ” the civilised races of man will almost certainly exterminate, and replace, the savage races throughout the world.” in his Decent of Man parper. It well may have been an observation instead of advice but a lot of people would look at it an OK because it is just natural to exterminate those less evolved than you.
The only thing I understand about making this conection is that the philosphies of Darwin could have or did inspire Hitler. The same could be said of the Bible inspiring Charles Manson. While both are most likely true, many would percieve that saying it is an attempt to demonize the philosphy that inspired. This just isn’t the case.
You could make a caser for the Hitler /Darwin connection very easily. The Manson/Bible connection is just a vain attempt at turning the tables, and a blatant misinterpretation of the Bible. But its hard NOT to read Darwin’s theory and not think that a superior race was implied.
If you read the rest of the part I cited but did not mention here, he mentions Negroes and Europeans and you can guess which ones he felt were superior.
He also did support his cousin Francis Galton who first advanced the eugenics theory. There will also a lot of the Darwin family that were involved with the eugenics movement.