Perhaps the statement was slightly amiss, but I personally see no reason
for an apology. Darwinism unquestionably bolstered and influenced Nazi
race theory and therefore platformed Nazi eugenics and 'ethnic cleansing.'
This hardly means Darwinism was not twisted almost beyond recognition to
suit their own purposes. Noted Third Reich historian Peter Levenda explains:
"Darwin had published The Origin of Species in 1859 and this was
followed by The Descent of Man in 1871; both books offered evol-
ution as the means by which humans were created, as opposed to
the Biblical account found in Genesis. ...Blavatsky (1888 - PG)
provided a much-appreciated antidote to Darwin even as she was
brazenly appropriating (and reversing) his theory of evolution.
As bizarre as her theories appear today, they were actually quite
brilliant for her time, for they enabled intelligent and educated
men and women to maintain deep spiritual beliefs while simultan-
eously acknowledging the inroads made by scientific research into
areas previously considered beyond the domain of mere human know-
ledge. Blavatsky outlined a map of evolution that went far beyond
Darwin to include vanished races from time immemorial through the
present imperfect race of humans, and continuing on for races far
into the future. Based on an idiosyncratic selection of various
Asian scriptures - including a few she made up herself - The
Secret Doctrine's message would later be picked up by the German
occultists, who welcomed the pseudoscientific prose of its author
as the answer to a dream. ...Taking her cue from Darwin, she
popularized the notion of a spiritual struggle between various
'races,' and of the inherent superiority of the 'Aryan' race,
hypothetically the latest in the line of spiritual evolution.
...It should be remembered that Blavatsky's works - notably Isis
Unveiled and The Secret Doctrine - appear to be the result of
prodigious scholarship and were extremely convincing in their day.
The rationale behind many later Nazi projects can be traced back -
through the writings of von List, von Sebottendorff, and von
Liebenfels - to ideas first popularized by Blavatsky. A caste
system of races, the importance of ancient alphabets (notably the
runes), the superiority of the Aryans (a white race with its
origins in the Himalayas), an 'initiated' version of astrology
and astronomy, the cosmic truths coded within pagan myths... all
of these and more can be found both in Blavatsky and in the Nazi
Party itself, specifically in the ideology of its Dark Creature,
the SS. It was, after all, Blavatsky who pointed out the occult
significance of the swastika."
- Peter Levenda, "Unholy Alliance - A History of Nazi Involvment
with the Occult," p.13-15, copyright 1995 Avon Books.
As one who has read Blavatsky's works, I concur with Levenda's mention of
Darwinism (albeit perverted) as a central theme. The assertion, therefore,
is not that Darwin's theory calls for racism, but that like many many other
ideologies, when coupled with human sinfulness, it can and has provided
racism a sturdy platform.
Of course racism and evolutionism are seperate entities. I think the
charge intended to be laid by some Creationists (though perhaps they failed
to express it well) is that NATURALISM (and only by extension Naturalistic
Evolution) as a worldview can provide no good reason why racism is *wrong*.
Not because of actual data but because naturalism posits no morality, no
meaning, no absolute reference point for objective morality. In the sense
that Darwinism as a worldview may prove racism *irrational* but cannot
prove it *immoral*, Darwinism fosters racism.
Kind Regards,
Peter Grice