Pros And Cons Of Eugenics

The Oxford University Press defines eugenics as “the science of improving a human population by controlled breeding to increase the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics” with a further—and rather illuminating—explanation which states, “Developed largely by Francis Galton as a method of improving the human race, it fell into disfavor only after the perversion of its doctrines by the Nazis”.

I support the guidelines outlined by Kitcher for the use of genetic information because of their responsible and ethical nature. I believe that future generations will benefit as a direct consequence of these guidelines. I shall begin by defining eugenics as the study of human genetics to improve inherited characteristics of the human race by the means of controlled selective breeding.

Nowadays, people will claim that the world is on the verge of scientific revolution that leads to the most controversial idea; genetic engineering of humans. When science technology grows exponentially faster than moral understanding, therein lies the argument between these two aspects. One can argue that genetic engineering is some sort of vast achievement in technology especially in this modern era whereby people live in full of access. However, if we look closely at the impact of this technology towards human beings, genetic engineering has many flaws and ramifications that can be debated thoroughly. Arguments and points of view are explained by Michael J. Sandel, the author of “The Case Against Perfection” and Nicholas Agar, the author of “Liberal Eugenics”.

Other than our desire for perfection, we as humans also have another desire: to learn about ourselves. We have the desire to explore our humanity. We often like to look within ourselves and question things about ourselves. In this way, eugenics should be explored in order to answer questions we have about ourselves. " Humanly speaking, the new genetics seems to have five dimensions or meanings: (1) genetics as a route to self-understanding, a way of knowing ourselves; (2) genetics as a route to new medical therapies, a way of curing ourselves; (3) genetics as a potential tool for human re-engineering, a prospect I find far-fetched; (4) genetics as a means of knowing something about our biological destiny, about our health and sickness in the future; and (5) genetics as a tool for screening the traits of the next generation, for choosing some lives and rejecting others."

Starting in the late 19th century, American philosophers, theorists, and scientists began experimenting and theorizing the idea of eugenics. Derived from Darwinian theories and the extensive works of Gregor Mendel, eugenics is known as a set of practices aimed at enhancing the human genome into sameness. Edwin Black’s “War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America’s Campaign to Create a Master Race” looks at the horrific background of eugenics, the ones who supported it, and the twisted ends it came to. This source, along with the two others, brings light to the awful means pursued to obtain a brilliant, but illogical and immoral goal of sameness. Overall, a negative vibe is shown through these sources.

Eugenics has been an exceptionally questionable science that has existed on the planet for a considerable length of time. Eugenics, also knows as selective breeding is characterized as the investigation of or confidence in the likelihood of enhancing the characteristics of the human species or a human populace by such means as disheartening reproduction by people having hereditary deformities or attempted to have inheritable undesirable attributes or empowering proliferation by people dared to have inheritable attractive qualities

Eugenics is the name given by Francis Galton to a theory for improving humanity through "judicious matings... to give the more suitable races or strains of blood a better chance of prevailing speedily over the less suitable". However, this process for bettering society through biological improvement is an indirect method. Through advanced technology, the step of selective breeding could possibly be bypassed. With these technologies it may be possible to directly and

The article does not reflect much information on any unforeseen or undesired projected population changes as a result of eugenics. Empirically, future scientific end results, moving forward, especially as a result of A.R.T., do not seem to be as thoroughly addressed as to evident and possible outcomes for our future generations and world population.

Eugenics is a special effort targeted at cultivating the genetic composition of the human race. In history, eugenicists had promoted selective breeding to accomplish goals that were set. Nowadays, we have the proper technology that makes it possible to directly modify the genetic composition of an individual. Nevertheless, people have different views on how to best use this kind of technology. In 1883, a British scholar named Sir Francis Galton, who was also the cousin of Charles Darwin, used the term eugenics, to represent “well-born.” Galton believed that the human race could directly help its future by selectively breeding individuals who have certain “desired” qualities. This idea was constructed on Galton’s study of the upper class in Britain. After the completion of these studies, Galton established that an elite position in society was due to those persons having good genetic makeup. “Galton idea of Eugenics was developed due to Charles Darwin’s theory of Social Darwinism, which explains survival of the fittest, the capability to

Future eugenicists can extort their knowledge and use it to their advantage. Eugenics is an interesting subject that is co-dependent on society; the future holds great possibilities for acknowledgment in this field of science.

Genetic engineering is a process that has been dreamed of for generations by the most ambitious of scientists. With current science making this once far off dream a reality, two men were quick to throw their opinions into the air, making their stance clear on the subject. In “Building Baby from Genes Up” Ronald M. Green encourages people to embrace the inevitable benefits that genetic modification will shower upon the world. Contrasting this article is the more reserved Richard Hayes with “Genetically Modified Humans? No Thanks”, in which he warns of the harm it will undoubtedly bring to humanity.

The preceding difficulties experienced when attempting to regulate eugenics and properly enforce its practices calls into question if eugenics can in fact be effectively outlined in law. It is the purpose of this essay to argue that eugenics should be inducted into legislation in order to regulate experimental research so as to encourage learning about the human genome and to protect participants. Due to eugenics’ sordid past that is rooted in discriminatory practices, it has the potential to impede the development and wellness of humankind rather than promote it, therefore there needs to be precautionary laws put in place to minimize the risks as much as

During World War II the idea of creating a “master race” was a large goal that was in the minds of the Nazi’s, but this fact is quite common knowledge to many. Whether people know the idea through knowledge of Hitler’s reign committing genocide during the Holocaust, or by knowing his want for blonde hair and blue-eyed citizens. While many know these facts and beliefs, there are still the individuals whom do not know the name behind this social movement, or part of the history and current practices of this movement. This movement is called eugenics, which is practiced through the ideas to remove the undesirable genes and traits of people, but keep what are considered to be desired to breed a better human race. Historically, the process was done by having individuals with the more wanted traits breed and having people with unwanted traits not. However, overtime this has changed, as the views toward the past movement have changed to see it in a negative way. Now, the movement has changed in the form that the process of using technology to decide and understand what genes parents have and if they will be passed down to their children. In short, eugenics is the social movement to improve the genes of humans historically done through breeding, and today considered to be practiced through altering genetics technologically.

Eugenics began in the early 20th century by Sir Francis Galton who first coined the term ‘eugenics’ in 1883. Eugenics is a movement? That makes it possible to enhance humans with desirable traits either known as positive or negative eugenics. Developments such as CRISPR-Cas9 make it quicker and easier to read a human’s genome. Personal genome sequencing is for the consumers personal interest of their own genetic make-up for his/her health such as cancer, diseases, infections and their potential offspring. It impacts our influence of the environment, physical, mental and behavioral states. Individuals have a distinct set of variations in their DNA, which affects just about everything about them. Since 1987 we have found what we now can call

“Eugenics” --- the Greek equivalent of “good birth”, was a scientific term coined by Sir Francis Galton in the 18th century. He believed that all human traits were inherited. Eugenics was promoted as a set of beliefs and practices that would genetically improve the human race through selective breeding. “Positive” eugenics encouraged the breeding of “socially desirable” genes while “negative” eugenics would improve the society by hindering the reproduction of individuals who possessed “defective” traits.