The contribution of Alfred Russel Wallace and William Rathbone Greg to the debate on the possibility of application of the law of natural selection to human society and the subsequent emergence of social Darwinism with dramatic consequences in the political life of the West has been largely neglected by historians of science despite the interest of both scholars in the practical political utility of the theory of Charles Darwin.
The contribution of Clémence-Auguste Royer, the first translator of the Origin of Species into French, to the emergence of social Darwinism is discussed and critically evaluated. Clémence-Auguste Royer used the theory of natural selection for challenging of modern liberal democracy and stressing the crucial role of “Aryan aristocracy” in the history of humankind. This aspect of her work has been largely neglected by historians of science.
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