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Social Darwinism in European and American Thought, 1860-1945: Nature as Model and Nature as Threat |  | Author: Mike Hawkins
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Category: Book
Buy Used: $146.41
as of 7/31/2010 13:51 CDT details
Used (3) from $146.41
Seller: quality7
Rating:  2 reviews
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 351
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6 x 1.2
ISBN: 0521574005
Dewey Decimal Number: 304.09
EAN: 9780521574006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
This original and wide-ranging study clarifies the meaning of Social Darwinism and demonstrates its relevance through a study of European and American social and political thinkers. It is the only study of Social Darwinism that combines the study of individual thinkers with the distinctive ideological themes (e.g., eugenics) and does so in a comprehensive historical and comparative framework. A wide spectrum of academic readers will enjoy Dr. Hawkins' lucid and subtle analysis and find it a useful guide through a difficult and complex subject.
Book Description
This original and wide-ranging study clarifies the meaning of Social Darwinism and demonstrates its relevance through a study of European and American social and political thinkers. It is the only study of Social Darwinism which combines the study of individual thinkers with the distinctive ideological themes (e.g., eugenics) and does so in a comprehensive historical and comparative framework. A wide spectrum of academic readers will enjoy Dr Hawkins' lucid and subtle analysis and find it a useful guide through a difficult and complex subject.
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| Customer Reviews:
Social Darwinism, for better or worse November 20, 1997
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
This extensive exploration of Social Darwinism by Mike Hawkinsshould be regarded as another step, one of arguable modernity thoughpotentially groundbreaking, in the field of recurrent re-assessments of the impact of Darwin's theories on contemporary civilization. The challenge facing Hawkins is certainly no easy matter : defining a happy medium between so-called revisionist approaches (cf. Robert Bannister et al.) and more familiar, if not classic, approaches (cf. Richard Hofstadter). From this perspective, Mike Hawkins' work deserves much attention and interest as a new thought-provoking basis for further research on Social Darwinism. Hawkins' theory, however, can hardly be regarded as radically modern since it fails, and not only by using the conventional lexicon of Darwinian rhetoric, to establish itself as a specifically new interpretation. For instance, his argument that the various turn-of-the-century appeals to Social Darwinism were not always intellectually coherent, as shown by the way socialists and pacifists alike used it, actually supports the theories developed by Robert Bannister. Conversely, one may detect a number of Hofstadter-like lines of thought aimed at fending off "revisionist" approaches. Hawkins more often than not tends to reshuffle the cards rather than to propose a truly new game. This, however does not mean that his interpretation is uninteresting : Hawkins' great merit is also to assemble fragmentary conceptions scattered in time (cf. his analyses of 20th developments) and space (cf. his contributions to the study of European versions of Social Darwinism). His theories will certainly confront most readers' own understanding of a number of aspects in Social Darwinism, which certainly represents a progressive approach to such a widely debated issue. In the end, Mike Hawkins proposes a sensible, intellectually honest approach by simply revisiting Dawinism rather than forcing an empty theory at all costs. One may disagree on fundamentals (which is my case), but Mike Hawkins' study is certainly worth reading. Don't pass it by. Nicolas GACHON
Required reading for anyone studying this topic. November 21, 1998
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book is very helpful to both beginning scholars and experts in the area, because it exposes (and maps many of) the complexities involved characterizing the notion of social Darwinism.
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