In this episode, we welcome back Dr. Richard Weikart to discuss his book From Darwin to Hitler: Evolutionary Ethics, Eugenics, and Racism in Germany. We begin the interview with the question of methodology, and hear about the nuances needed to understand what is, and is not, being argued in the book. How does the historian accurately and responsibly track the impact of ideas, texts, and thinkers over time? From Darwin’s On the Origin of Species being published in 1859 to Adolf Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor of Germany in 1933 – how did Darwinists, themselves, promote and develop these ideas? Was was “the gospel of Darwinism”, and what was the type of rhetoric so many Darwinists used to describe their “conversion”, in addition to promoting a “new morality” in the form of some version of “social gospel”? Listen in as Dr. Weikart covers this and more, including an oft-forgotten genocide of the Hereros during the Herero Revolt (1904-06) - annihilating around 81% of the people, being justified explicitly using Darwinian concepts and thus, using scientific sanction long before Hitler did the same. Demonstrating that Darwin – and those he influenced undermined the sanctity and value of human life, we underscore that the ideas utilized by the Nazis were often mainstream, “scientific”, academic, and indeed promoted as rooted in “natural law”. Though the trail is somewhat crooked at points - in the end, perhaps Hitler demonstrated the true horror entailed by the ideas of the Darwinist worldview when a tyrant is sincerely dedicated to applying them. Book: From Darwin to Hitler: Evolutionary Ethics, Eugenics, and Racism in Germany Other books by Dr. Weikart: - Hitler’s Ethic: The Nazi Pursuit of Evolutionary Progress - Hitler’s Religion: The Twisted Beliefs that Drove the Third Reich - hear past interview on this book here - Darwinian Racism: How Darwinism Influenced Hitler, Nazism, and White Nationalism - The Myth of Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Is His Theology Evangelical? - hear past interview on this book here - Unnatural Death: Medicine’s Descent from Healing to Killing Unbelievable Debate with Peter Singer Other resources: The Aryan Myth by Leon Poliakov Woodrow Wilson: The Light Withdrawn by Christopher Cox The Presbyterian Controversy by Bradley Longfield Process and Providence: The Evolution Question at Princeton, 1845-1929 by Bradley Gundlach - also, interview about B.B. Warfield here Darwinian Fairytales by David Stove Forgotten Science by S. D. Tucker Scientific Mythologies by James Herrick Admirable Evasions by Theodore Dalrymple On the point of LDS Disaffiliation and politics, there is some nuance that could’ve been said: - Check out our interview with Jeff Strong - “Why Latter-day Saints appear to be politically shifting to the Left” by Ciara Hulet (KUER 90.1) - “Ex-Mormons Are the Most Republican Religious Leavers in America” by Alex Bass (also, check out part two) The American Religious Landscape; The Nones; The Vanishing Church by Ryan Burge
