Pros And Cons Of Eugenics

When Francis Galton coined the term “eugenics” in 1883, the magnitude of support and appeal that soon followed during the context of the World War One and onward was extremely vast. When examining this topic in reference to Diane B. Paul’s Controlling Human Heredity, 1865 to the Present, we are able to analyze its allure throughout society in a contextual manner in regards to political and social manners. But before we analyze its impact on a country scale, it’s important to deliberate the definition and creation of the science itself to analyze its vitality to society in this time period. Eugenics is built upon the idea that the basis for human facets—such as mental, behavioral, and moral traits—are determined by heredity. Theorists, such

The competition for resources that existed at the time allowed for the alleviation of individuals with disadvantageous traits from society, which will allow for the reproduction of the highest quality individuals, instead of those seen as less than, resulting in a more progressive and more so genetically healthy populous according to Darwin. Charles Darwin’s general argument is that “survival of the fittest” deems that the weak are eliminated and the strong prevail and revolutionize society. Galton, on the other hand, was inspired by his cousin Darwin. After he read Origin of the Species, Galton turned to the concept of the inheritance of mental and moral characteristics. He wanted to encourage the capable families of the population to reproduce so their children could be in a more so favorable position of advancement (30). Said specificity in reproductivity argued that unfavorable traits were everywhere and that they could be breeding out of the population, resulting in a more so perfect human race. Darwin and Galton’s ideas created a more so standardized science that was employed on a global

Germany was enthralled with eugenic science because, after such an enormous military loss and the economic turmoil that came soon thereafter, they were in a state of weakness and said weakness could seemingly be solved by creating a superior fighting force. The appeal of preventing a future political, social, and economic slump like the one that they faced after World War One was substantial in the employment and enforcement of eugenics within the area, as preparedness for future conflict could reprise their lost power on an international scale. The United States, on the other hand, exited the first World War rather unscathed and was more concerned with the reproduction of those with distasteful traits in the lower social class. Examples of said perpetrators were prisoners and mental asylum patients. By imposing eugenic policies such as sterilization and isolation to segment the healthy individuals from those with inimical traits, society became healthier and more cohesive. Eugenics was a tremendously desirable phenomenon at the time, as it alleviated the issues of inferior social and political standing. These two countries, Germany and the United States, perceived substantial benefit from the science as they utilized the theory of eugenics in the context of their society so they would get