Eugenics: Greek eu, meaning "good/well", and -genēs, meaning "born") is the belief and practice of improving the genetic quality of a species. Also the study of human improvement by genetic means.
The word was coined by the polymath Francis Galton. Interestingly it was Galton who also, later in his life, showed "the wisdom of crowds" where large groups gave widely spread answers to questions but, collectively, the group generally was accurate, a philosophy that opposed the value of selection and narrowing the gene pool.
The first thorough exposition of eugenics was made by Galton in Hereditary Genius (1869) where he proposed that a system of arranged marriages between men of distinction and women of wealth would eventually produce a gifted race. The American Eugenics Society, founded in 1926, supported Galton's theories. U.S. eugenicists also supported restriction on immigration from nations with "inferior" stock, such as Italy, Greece, and countries of eastern Europe, and argued for the sterilization of insane, retarded, and epileptic citizens. Sterilization laws were passed in more than half the states, and isolated instances of involuntary sterilization continued into the 1970s.
No comments:
Post a Comment