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Few developments in science and technology have been profoundly and controversially impactful to society as eugenics. Originally intended as a means to promote the advanced state of the human condition and the mitigation of human illness, eugenics came to be associated with victimization, involuntary sterilization, and the most heinous acts of human cruelty in contemporary history.
The understanding of the rise and demise of eugenics is significant to the understanding of the social phenomenon involving the intersection of science and ethics.
Eugenics was a term introduced by Francis Galton in 1883. Galton studied under Darwin and was his cousin. Considering his background, it’s not surprising that Galton developed the term by combining his Darwinian views of selective breeding with the Greek word for ‘well-born.’
It was argued that a society where only the people with beneficial traits were encouraged to reproduce and where people with adverse traits were discouraged or prevented from reproducing would be a healthier and more functional society.
People believed that behaviors like social class, criminality, and intellect were all inherited, and many understood morality to be the same.
By the late 1800s and early 1900s, the social sciences and the politics in the USA and Canada saw eugenics as a scientifically based, modern, and social-referring way of addressing social dilemmas such as mental illness, crime, and poverty.
Eugenics programs to study the improvement of human populations and the improvement of research on heredity were established by government agencies, research institutions, and universities.
In the United States, the movement gained a great deal of traction, resulting in many state legislatures passing laws permitting the involuntary sterilization of those deemed by the state to be the most socially and biologically unfit to reproduce.
All of these policies affected thousands and were executed without the subjects’ consent. Most of the subjects were targeted for social or economic status, ethnicity, or disability.
Nazi Germany is the most infamous example of eugenics. Hitler’s government began to actively pursue the belief of the “master race” and the racial politics of eugenics.
This line of thinking resulted in the Holocaust, the systematic murder of millions, and the forced sterilization and racism that preceded the Holocaust and the Second World War. The combination of power politics, discrimination, and pseudoscience resulted in the atrocities of the Second World War.
As the 20th century continued, advances in science and especially genetics proved that many of the foundations of eugenics were incorrect. The traits of an individual are the result of a combination of many different genes and are affected by the environment and social conditions.
These include the availability of health resources, nutrition, education, and the economy. Modern genetics shows that you cannot classify the human species into superior or inferior races. Ethics of Contemporary Science
Modern science offers real benefits with new research tools, including genetic tests, genome mapping, and gene modification. Each of these, while offering the potential for real health benefits, pose real ethical dilemmas. Each of these must be treated with careful consideration.
Modern genetics can help us understand and make better medical treatments for heritable diseases. Modern genetics can help medicine make better healthcare decisions.
Modern genetics also is concerned with patient rights, informed consent, and the appreciation of diversity. Modern genetics is a much more empowering field of medicine than the controlling field of eugenics.
Eugenics is an early example where a pseudoscience, stripped of ethics, could have a bed social impact. Eugenics shapes how we discuss genetics, public health, and social rights to this day.
Eugenics offers a case study for scientists, clinicians, and policymakers to understand the importance of ethics in science to protect the rights of people.
