reply to post by Astyanax
To expound on this a bit, here's what Darwin actually had to say on it.
With savages, the weak in body or mind are soon eliminated; and those that survive commonly exhibit a vigorous state of health. We civilized men, on
the other hand, do our utmost to check the process of elimination. We build asylums for the imbecile, the maimed and the sick; we institute poor-laws;
and our medical men exert their utmost skill to save the life of every one to the last moment. There is reason to believe that vaccination has
preserved thousands, who from a weak constitution would formerly have succumbed to small-pox. Thus the weak members of civilized societies propagate
their kind. No one who has attended to the breeding of domestic animals will doubt that this must be highly injurious to the race of man. It is
surprising how soon a want of care, or care wrongly directed, leads to the degeneration of a domestic race; but excepting in the case of man himself,
hardly anyone is so ignorant as to allow his worst animals to breed.
This is the (out of context) quote many Social Darwinists love to use from what I've seen. It's also a favorite of creationists to show how evil
Evolution is. You generally never hear the very next segment of it, however.
The aid which we feel impelled to give to the helpless is mainly an incidental result of the instinct of sympathy, which was originally acquired as
part of the social instincts, but subsequently rendered, in the manner previously indicated, more tender and more widely diffused. Nor could we
check our sympathy, even at the urging of hard reason, without deterioration in the noblest part of our nature. The surgeon may harden himself
whilst performing an operation, for he knows that he is acting for the good of his patient; but if we were intentionally to neglect the weak and
helpless, it could only be for a contingent benefit, with an overwhelming present evil.
~ From Darwin's Descent of Man
While Darwin recognized that his theories could also apply to mankind, he recognized the dangers and inherent evil in letting mankind ignore our urges
for compassion, sympathy, and tolerance of our fellow man. While I have no doubt that Darwin harbored racist thoughts (most everyone did in his days),
he evidently did not see his theory as a justification for shedding all that was good and noble in the human character. It's a shame that what he put
forth as a warning, was twisted and eventually taken up as a rallying call for racial/genetic purification.
IIRC, Darwin was also a strong advocate of missionary work to help improve the lives of native peoples. So he most definitely did not accept the
suffering of his fellow man as selection is process. Whatever racism he harbored from his culture obviously did not prevent him from feeling
compassion and sympathy for the "savage peoples" of the world.
On a personal note: Part of the reason I like the theory of evolution so much is, not just because it's so elegant and insightful, but because it
confirms what many ancient cultures had been saying for millenia. We are all brothers and sisters. Every man, to every woman, to all species of life -
we are all related to one another. Brother Wolf, Brother Eagle... these weren't just spiritual ramblings - they were the truth. Unlike Creationism
where there is no connection between species (or races, in some cases), and thus - no deeper connection to nature or each other aside from domination
decreed by god.
So hey... ancient wisdom actually did get something factually right (sort of) after all!
[edit on 7-9-2008 by Lasheic]
')) ,my parents aren't sure, my wife is Sicilian,
my mother in law is German/Swiss, my Father in law is Indonesian, my son is the future and you are beautiful. 
