Theories of Social Evolution Herbert Spencer versus Franz...

Theories of Social Evolution Herbert Spencer versus Franz Boaz Herbert Spencer and Franz Boaz had two opposing theories on the social evolution theory. Each theory was difficult to prove but great theories. But both theories had its ups and downs. Herbert Spencer was born in England, he is best known for developing and applying the evolutionary theory to philosophy and psychology. The evolutionary theory states that societies go from simple societies to complex societies. The more complex a society is the more evolved they are. A complex society is more civilized with different social levels of politics, such as slaves and kings. He proclaimed, Only the strongest survives.. Spencer explained a†¦show more content†¦Spencer compared societies by categorizing race and culture, which he viewed at one term. Spencer felt race and culture were not different enough to be classified as two different terms. Spencer believed that every race that belonged to a society is the same as the next, but some are more evolved then others. A simple society developed into a complex society through prospective steps. A society can go only from simple to complex. The only time a society could go from complex to simple was if a national disaster occurred, but he explained that the most evolved society would develop back at a faster rate. Boaz was a Jewish German American anthropologist and ethnologist. His theory on social evolution stated that no truly pure race existed and no race is innately superior to any other. He confirmed the differences in peoples were the result of historical, social and geographic conditions and all people had equally developed cultures. Boaz was objective. He lived within different societies around the world while collecting data on everything he saw, from language, customs and history. He concluded that a society can survive through corporation just as well as a society can through competition. How a society survives depends on its psychological conditions, what satisfies their human needs. No matter how a