Final answer:
Before Darwin, Europeans believed in a fixed natural order created by a divine force, with humans above animals. After Darwin's theory of evolution, some Europeans distorted these ideas into Social Darwinism to justify social and racial hierarchies, claiming Europeans were superior due to biological evolution.
Step-by-step explanation:
The pre-Darwinian worldview among most Europeans was that nature was created in a fixed, unchanging state by a supreme being, and living creatures were part of a divinely decreed hierarchy known as the great chain of being. This view placed humans above other animals and instituted a static, unevolving perspective on the natural world and society. After Charles Darwin introduced his theory of evolution, which proposed that species evolve over time through natural selection, some Europeans misinterpreted his ideas to justify colonialist attitudes and social inequalities, coining the term Social Darwinism. This belief system was used to defend class distinctions, underscore notions of racial superiority, and support the idea that European societies were more advanced due to their supposed biological evolution.