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In Search of Human Nature: The Decline and Revival of Darwinism in American Social Thought

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This is a good nature/nurture dialectic book to read. Degler's book is a historical account of - not a philosophical, sociological, or psychological argument for - the rise and fall of "social Darwinism."

He begins with an important historical demarcation at the beginning of the 19th century between Spencerism (Herbert Spencer), Lamarckism (Jean Baptiste Lamarck), and Darwinism (Charles Darwin). What we call "social Darwinism" today is not derived from Darwin himself (although one might infer it from his "Descent of Man"), but is actually Spencerism. Spencer, not Darwin, is the one that asserted man is entirely biologically determined. In the nature/nurture dichotomy after the appearance of "Descent of Man," nature is the sole determinate of human nature.

Degler then proceeds for about 200 pages to describe the various reactions against all three of the above forms of evolution as it applies to human beings, starting with the provocative and virulent challenges from anthropology, particularly by Franz Boaz, then onto sociology, and finally onto psychology. All three of these social sciences denied that evolution in any of the above forms contributed to the makeup of homo sapiens. In what becomes a highly repetitive and often tedious account, Degler excavates a minefield of writers from all the social sciences at the end of the 19th century to the mid-20th century to attack all aspects of biologically acquired or inherited characteristics in mankind invoked by evolution. Almost all of these attacks start from the "liberal" conclusion first, viz., that man is the product of his environment only, and then proceed to provide "empirical" evidence and premises for the conclusion that supports intelligence, sexism, racism, feeblemindedness, and the like are all the consequence of society, culture, and the environment, not the result of any biological, much less evolutionary, determinate. Even the notion of "instinct" is practically annihilated. By 1950, the infamous B. F. Skinner had announced that all human behavior was nothing more than a conditioned response to external stimuli - and nothing more. Thus, during this period of the nature/nurture dispute, despite the variety of approaches in the social sciences, nurture alone was deemed the sole determinate of human nature.

By the end of part two, Degler covers more than fifty years of cultural relativism in the social sciences in manifold detail. By the 1950s, attitudes slowly began to change with two concurrent events: (1) The revitalization of genetics and ethology in the field of psychology, and (2) the publication of three major books: Nikolaus Tinbergen's "Study of Instinct" (1951), Konrad Lorenz's "On Aggression" (1966), and E. O. Wilson's "Sociobiology: The New Synthesis" (1975). Instinct was resurrected, and the social sciences could no longer ignore the biological encroachment of genetics and instinct on every living species, including man..The incest taboo is but one example that exists both among non-human and human animals. Aggression is another. The flight/fright response is yet another. Dominance/submissiveness, reproductive success, kin inclusiveness, survival of the fittest, etc., are all based on the Darwinian principles of evolution that have shown themselves "predictive" and "probable" (as opposed to absolute and necessary) inherited characteristics. Such characteristics are mere probabilities, based on genetic inheritances over hundreds, if not thousands and millions, of years. How they actually interact with each individual in the human species is, of course, a matter of adaptation of the species to the environment; hence, there is not the Spencerian inevitability that "social Darwinists" speak of.

This book is a treasure trove of historical developments (or lack thereof) of Darwinism in the fields of biology, genetics, anthropology, psychology, and sociology, especially as it pertains to the first-half of the 20th century. It also clears up several ambiguities and misplaced attributions. Overall, though, it can be tedious and repetitive by restating the same principles from myriads of different social scientists. But it is a heuristic device that leads to the triumph of sociobiology as an essential tool in all the sciences, both natural and social. For all of its historical antecedents, it does lack a contemporary balance in how sociobiology is infiltrating our understanding of human nature today. Therefore, be prepared to continue reading a book like E. O. Wilson's "On Human Nature" (Harvard, 1978) or his "Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge" (Vintage, 1998) to get the full thrust of evolutionary theory in the social and natural sciences.

This book does a good job of showing Darwin's influence in the social sciences and how Darwin has been used and misused to promote certain ideas.

Starting off, the book discusses Darwinism and some contemporary philosophies that Darwinism influenced such as Spencerism and Lamarckism. If there was a goal this book sought to accomplish was to broaden in the minds of the non-professional the idea that Darwinism is relevant to the social sciences despite the abuses of those who misused Darwinism to promote the bigotry found in "social Darwinism."

Not an earth-shattering book that will likely change the course of the studies of human nature, it never the less puts Darwinism in a more useful and meaningful place in understanding how humans evolved and the role culture and learning played in that evolution.

Through intellectual biohgraphies of numerous social thinkers, Carl Degler traces the evolving social implications of biological thought. Degler traces the theme in the writings of individuals, and in the thought of the public and policymakers.

Degler's account only hints at the often ghoulish results (e.g., forced sterilizations). Degler, however, did not intend to fully document American crimes against humanity; he intended to offer the history of a certain theme in American intellectual life. Degler offers a fascinating account of the rise, staggering fall, and gradual comeback of Social Darwinism in American thought.

A great contribution to the evolution of the nature versus nurture debate, this book traces the history of the effect of Darwin's ideas on our view of human nature, through much of the 20th century. In doing so, Degler describes some unpleasant aspects of Darwin's ideas and writings that can really only be described as racist and sexist, and I'll spare you the details. For the most part, this is simply a very well written historical account of the social aspects of Darwinian thought, that objectively describes the main ideas of the prominent thinkers, including John Searle, who have contributed to the debate. A lot of emphasis is placed on the relationship between man and the so-called lower animals. Not written with an axe to grind, it's a pleasure to read. Incidentally, Steven Pinker has recently put in his two cents with The Blank Slate. Author of Adjust Your Brain: A Practical Theory for Maximizing Mental Health.