 The many dimensions of “social” Darwinism that were affected by the Descent demand separate articles, as does the separate impact of the Expression of the Emotions, a treatise that in many respects is different in tone and content from the Descent. It is also the case that many of the social implications of evolutionary theory were due more to the influence of Herbert Spencer than to Darwin’s own writings, and for this reason what has been termed “social Darwinism” may have developed independently of Darwin (Bowler 2013b). In this closing subsection the author will focus exclusively on one important aspect of this broader social impact of the Descent, the Darwinian treatment of ethics. This will be examined within its specific Victorian context, rather than in light of more recent discussions of altruism within contemporary sociobiology that may owe some filiation with these Darwinian discussion (see entries on  morality and evolutionary biology  and  biological altruism).