Topic: Great minds...

Are sometimes pretty stupid...

Darwin's deadly legacy.

We've seen plenty of examples of this round this forum, ~I post this here more for amusement than anything else. Personally I don't recall being taught that Survival of the fittest had anything to do with Genocide...

Cheers,

The whole 'social darwinism' thing has been touted by ignorant conservatives for quite some time now.

The fact that certain people throughout the last century have perverted the facts of a theory and applied their own philosophical reasonings to their misinterpretations does not reflect whatsoever on the theory, or the man behind it. How much it may or may not have played into Hitler's actions is up for debate, but to say "no Darwin, no Hitler" is obviously a monumental misrepresentation.

It never ceases to amaze me when it is touted as some sort of evidence against evolution, or as somehow being the cause of evil deeds. And of course, any time we see Ann Coulter behind something, we can be pretty certain it's nothing but ignorant nonsense.

(Edited by DL-44 on 08-28-2007 16:36)

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?The time has come,? Dr. Kennedy said, ?to recognize that evolution is a bad idea and should be, frankly, discarded into the dustbin of history.?

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Frankly, I'm afraid I have to agree with Dr. Kennedy here, because without evolution, we wouldn't have to listen to idiots like him blathering on about what a bad idea it is.

I have alist of people I would like to stop evolving.

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-- not necessarily stoned... just beautiful.

hyperbole:: Don't worry they ( well, least their state of mind ) stopped evolving long ago.

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"Planned Parenthood is a direct result of the eugenics movement in America."

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Oh, dear god... *Rolls Eyes*

You know, I often wonder if these people only use these types of concepts to control the sheeple, or if they actually believe even a small part of any of this rhetoric. I don't think I could say things like that without my mouth quivering and then busting into uncontrollable fits of laughter.

Edit: Wow- Answered my own question: Christianity is Under Attack!

(Edited by Petskull on 08-28-2007 19:37)

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?Among German historians, there?s really not much debate about whether or not Hitler was a social Darwinist,? said Weikart. ?He clearly was drawing on Darwinian ideas.?

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No, he was drawing on nationalism, racism, and a psychopathic hatred for anyone who did not fit his ideal. Darwin's theories (or the distorted view of Darwin's theories known as "social Darwinisim"), if they played any part at all, were simply a justification after the fact. Because the truth of the matter is that we very often make up our minds about something first and then seek a rational justification for our opinions. If it hadn't been Darwin, it would have been something or someone else.

I actually read Mein Kampf (in English translation) when I was younger, and at no point did I think, "Wow, if Darwin hadn't existed, Hitler never would have thought or written any of this." That is absurd. What I did think was, "Here is a very intelligent and charismatic individual who has the ability to make lies and hatred seem proper. No wonder he was so dangerous." There were times when I read a passage and thought, "That makes sense." And then I realized, with horror, that I was agreeing with Hitler. But what if I hadn't had the lessons of history to shock me into that realization? I can see how the German people, not knowing what was to come, might have been swayed by his speeches (which were undoubtedly more powerful than his writing, simply because of his charisma). Not to justify what happened, of course. I'm just saying, I can understand how it could have happened.

And I'd like to float a tentative idea here. It's been so long since I read Mein Kampf that I honestly don't remember if Hitler specifically mentioned social Darwinism, but when I read that quote above it makes me wonder. Here in Asia, Japan has been doing everything in its power for the past sixty years to deny any wrongdoing in World War II (and just about everything after that--the inability to take responsibility for wrongs seems to be a characteristic of the Japanese government, even when it comes to domestic matters). In this process, many (although not all) historians have drawn on all sorts of theories in an attempt to exonerate their country. Is it possible that German historians are doing something similar, perhaps trying to distance themselves from the evil of Hitler by explaining it away as "social Darwinism," or at least qualifying it as something that can be explained and thus understood and dealt with? I don't even know if it is true that there really is a consensus among German historians, but if there is you have to wonder why.

Also: Ann Coulter gives me a serious case of the heebie-jeebies.


___________________________
Suho: www.liminality.org | Cell 270 | Sig Rotator | the Fellowship of Sup

Hitler's ovens were related to his interest in "Social Darwinism"?

BAN OVENS (and/or fire, sources of ignition, gas, gas utilities, small rooms with little or no ventilation, etc.) NOW!! They're obviously evil.

In the altered words of Richard Dawkins:

"DAMNIT! Why dont you people leave us biologists alone?! You don't bother the physicists and the chemists and the mathematicians, or try to distort or misapply THEIR theories. Leave us and ours alone! Damn fags. You see, now we're gona start using equations too! Just to keep you damn people off our back!"

~this is not a signature~

Heh.

ID failed miserably, so it is time to gather the "sheeple" under a different banner, I guess.

WebShaman | The keenest sorrow (and greatest truth) is to recognize ourselves as the sole cause of all our adversities.
- Sophocles