Lewis Morgan and the Theory of Social Evolution
Lewis Henry Morgan was an important early thinker in the field of anthropology and is best known for his theory of social evolution. His ideas were developed during the nineteenth century, a time when many scholars were trying to understand how societies change over time. Morgan believed that all human societies develop in stages, from simple to complex, and that these stages could be studied and understood scientifically. He called this process social evolution. His theory had a big influence on later thinkers, including Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, who used some of his ideas to explain the history of class struggle.
Lewis Morgan spent a lot of time studying Native American cultures, especially the Iroquois people. He believed that by studying how different societies live, organize families, and manage resources, he could discover patterns that show how human life has changed from ancient times to the modern world. Based on his research, Morgan proposed that all human societies go through three major stages of development: savagery, barbarism, and civilization. Each stage had its own characteristics, and every society moved from one stage to the next over long periods of time.
The first stage, which he called savagery, was the earliest and simplest form of human society. In this stage, people lived in small groups, hunted animals, gathered wild plants, and had little or no knowledge of agriculture. Tools were simple and made from stones or wood. There were no written laws, and people lived by customs passed down from one generation to the next. Families were often organized in loose forms, and there was very little permanent settlement. Morgan believed that this was the way humans lived for thousands of years after they first appeared on Earth.
The second stage Morgan described was barbarism. In this stage, people started to learn farming and animal domestication. They built permanent homes, made pottery, and developed metal tools. With these new skills, societies grew larger and more organized. People began to form tribes, manage land, and create simple forms of government. There was more cooperation and sharing of resources, and people started to develop systems of trade. Morgan believed that this stage showed a big leap in human progress because it allowed people to settle in one place and build more complex communities.
The final stage in Morgan’s theory was civilization. In this stage, people developed writing, laws, governments, religion, and science. They built cities, created large institutions like schools and armies, and had clear systems for owning land and property. Civilization, for Morgan, represented the highest level of social development. He believed that societies in Europe and America had reached this stage, while other societies were still in earlier stages. This part of his theory has been criticized because it places Western societies at the top and views others as being behind. Today, scholars reject this kind of ranking because it is unfair and disrespectful to different cultures.
Even though some of Morgan’s ideas are outdated and based on the thinking of his time, his work was important for starting conversations about how societies change. His idea that all societies change and develop, even if they do it in different ways, is still an important part of social science. He helped people understand that culture and social systems are not fixed. They grow and change based on the needs of people and the challenges they face.
Morgan’s theory of social evolution was also important because it tried to look at history in a scientific way. He believed that by studying the customs, technologies, and family structures of different societies, we could learn how humans have adapted and progressed. He used examples from many different parts of the world, not just from Europe or the United States. He tried to be open-minded and learn directly from the people he studied. This was a big step forward in a time when many people thought only their own culture was correct or civilized.
One of the most interesting parts of Morgan’s research was his study of kinship systems. He found that different cultures have very different ways of thinking about family. Some societies have large extended families where everyone shares resources, while others focus more on the nuclear family, which is just parents and children. Morgan showed that family is not a natural thing that looks the same everywhere. It is shaped by culture, tradition, and the needs of the group. This was a very new idea in his time and helped break the idea that there is only one correct way to live.
It is important to understand that Morgan was a product of the nineteenth century. At that time, many people believed that European societies were the most advanced, and this affected how Morgan and others thought about social evolution. Today, we know that every culture has its own strengths and that no society is better than another. We do not use terms like savagery or barbarism anymore because they are disrespectful. But even though some of Morgan’s language is outdated, the basic idea that societies change and grow is still useful.
Morgan’s work also helped people see that culture is something learned and passed on, not something people are born with. This idea helped move away from racist ideas that some groups are naturally better than others. Instead, Morgan’s theory showed that people in every part of the world have created rich, meaningful lives based on their own environments and histories. This was a big step toward respecting cultural diversity.
In the end, Lewis Morgan’s theory of social evolution gave us a way to think about how societies develop over time. He helped show that human life is always changing, and that we can learn from the past to understand the present. Even though some of his ideas are no longer accepted, his work started an important journey in understanding human culture. He encouraged people to look beyond their own society and learn from others.
By Khushdil Khan Kasi
