272 Chapter 11
Spencer’s philosophywas “basedon the presumptionthat animalsand humansare inher-
entlyselfish.. .” GiventhatShermerthrowsaroundthe termsselfishandaltruismin the
invalidmannerin whichtheyare conventionallyused,oneascertainsthatShermeris
accusingSpencerof opiningthateverypersoncaresexclusivelyabouthis ownwelfare
and no one else’s. Thisis particularlyironicgiventhat,as we readin BookTwo,Herbert
Spencerpioneeredin the usageof the termaltruismin the late 1800s,precededby a few
like AugusteComteandJohnStuartMill.Indeed,the realpresumptionis the one that
ShermerbetraysaboutSpencer.ContradictingShermer,we havepreviouslyobserved
thatSpencerstronglybelievedin humancharity.We recallfromBookTwothatit was
Spencerwhostartedthe misconceptionthataltruismcan be takenas a synonymfor
benefitingotherpeopleandcaringaboutthem.Thatnotionpervertedthe muchmore
specificdefinitionthatComteandMillprovided.GiventhatShermerunknowinglyap-
pliesSpencer’s revisionistdefinitionof altruism,Shermeris unknowinglyinfluencedby
Spencerin this regard.
Goingon, ShermerlambastesSpencerfor having“immortalizednaturalselectionin
the phrase‘survivalof the fittest,’ one of the mostmisleadingdescriptionsin the history
of science.. .” Excuseme, Dr. Shermer.Thereis nothingmisleadingaboutthatphrase
whenone understandsthatit refersto the fact thata species’ survivalis incumbentupon
beingabletofitinto its environment.Then,predictably,Shermerconcludesthatsurvivalof
the fittestis the phrase“thathas beenembracedby socialDarwinistseversince,who
applyit inappropriatelyto racialtheory,nationalpolitics,and economicdoctrines.” In the
paragraphsfollowingthatone,ShermercontinuesthatSpencer’s theoriesaboutnatural
selectionundercapitalismare wrongby virtueof the fact thathumanbeingsare capable
of cooperatingand bestowingcharityand kindnesson one another.Shermerpressesthis
accusationin ignoranceof Spencerhavingstressedthat samepoint.
WilliamGrahamSumnerdoesnot receivebettertreatmentfromShermerthanSpencer
does.Repeatingwhathe did withSpencer,ShermerborrowsimportantideasfromSum-
ner whiledisrespectinghim,refrainingfromcitinghim as an intellectualinfluence.Antic-
ipatingShermer,and DavidBerreby,whosederisionof summerwe quotedin chapter1, it
wasSumnerwhofirstpositedthatthe mentalitiesofus-versus-themandthe in-groupwere
holdoversfromthe StoneAge.SumneranticipatedShermerandBerrebyin explaining
thatcompetitionamongStone-Agehumanbeingsin the processof naturalselectionoc-
currednot at the levelof one managainstanotheras muchas it was one kin groupagainst
another.In “primitivesociety,”Folkwayselaborates,the membersof a group“mayhave
somerelationto each(kin,neighborhood,alliance,connubium,and commercium)which
drawsthemtogetheranddifferentiatesthemfromothers.Thusa differentiationarises
betweenourselves,the we-groupor in-group,andeverybodyelse,or the others-groups,
out-groups.Theinsidersin a we-groupare a relationof peace,order,law,government,
and industry,to eachother.Theirrelationto all outsiders,or others-groups,is one of war
and plunder,exceptso far as agreementshavemodifiedit.”^30
Nowrecollect,fromBookTwo,the strongemphasisthat Shermerplaceson this social-
sciencemodelin his ownwritings:“...limitedresourcesled to the selectionfor within-
groupcooperationand between-groupcompetitionin humans,resultingin within-group
amityandbetween-groupenmity.Thisevolutionaryscenariobodeswellfor our spe-
cies—if we can continueto expandthe circleof whomwe considerto be membersof our
in-group.Recentconflictsare not encouraging,but in the longrun thereis a trendtoward
includingmorepeople(suchas womenand minorities)withinthe in-groupdeservingof
humanrights.”^31 DavidBerrebywrotea wholebookto advancethis samesocial-science
model.
In fact,OxfordUniversity’sDictionaryof Sociologyattributesthe verycoinagesofin-
groupandout-groupto Sumnerhimself.^32 To put it simply,Shermerrepeatedlyusesthe