Eugenics: what is the definition, problems and goals of science

At the end of the XlX the beginning of the 20th century, science was on the rise. The copies of Darwin's "Origin of Species", written back in 1859, were sold out in a matter of days, and disputes over the ways of evolution and the possibilities to influence it did not abate for a minute. For several decades, that scientists have intensively explored the evolutionary approach, many directions have appeared in biology, some of which suggested an active influence on the course of human evolution.

Eugenics - what is it?

Throughout its history, mankind has used selection in order to increase crop yields and productivity of domestic animals. Thus, the history of eugenics has its roots in the very desire of man to maximize the productivity of not only animals but also of its own kind.

A separate discipline dealing with scientific ethics in the XlX century did not exist yet, therefore the church, which actively criticized any attempts to intervene in the arrangement of the divine creation, assumed the role of the main limiter and the obstacle to the improvement of the human species.

Thus, the idea of eugenics is to make an improvement of the human species by means of targeted selection, exercising control over childbearing and marriage unions.

Popularity and dubious reputation

In the first decades of the twentieth century, it gained such popularity that some states began to think about applying its basic provisions in practice. So the alliance of German Nazi science and eugenics took place. It was under the Nazi regime that measures such as forced sterilization, experiments on living people and the destruction of entire population groups recognized by the government as undesirable were most horrendously spread.

However, eugenic laws were applied far beyond Nazi Germany. For example, in the US, in some states, poor people and people with low IQ have been offered remuneration for voluntary sterilization. It was assumed that people with undesirable qualities can spoil the gene pool by the very fact of the birth of children.

First of all, eugenics is a science that studies artificial selection, the main object of which is a person. There are two ways to control such selection: the so-called positive eugenics focuses on stimulating marriages, which result in the birth of children with in-demand traits; Negative genetics is based on the exclusion of the birth of children with developmental defects or features that are undesirable to society. With the development of diagnostic medical technologies in the arsenal of eugenics, there were such methods of birth control as genetic tests and ultrasound diagnostics.

Returned eugenics

What is eugenic principles becomes clear if you look at the problem retrospectively. First of all, it is necessary to understand the meaning of the word itself. Translated from the Greek word is translated roughly as "nobleborn." Thus the doctrine of eugenics was born. What is the artificial selection, it became clear in 1883, when the scientist F. Galton published his fundamental work "The study of human abilities and their development."

The main support of eugenic scientists was the ideology of genetic determinism. The essence of Galton's teaching was that neither upbringing nor education does not radically influence the manner of behavior, but the leading role is played by heredity, which determines, among other things, social behavior.

With the publication of this book began a victorious procession of eugenics through the universities of Europe. A new science has earned its place in the academic environment.

Eugenics as a science. Basic Provisions

In 1907, the Galton Society was created in Britain, in which they worked on the development of the provisions of the new science and the search for tools for their application in practice. In the US, a similar society appeared in 1921 and was named the American Eugenic Society.

The history of eugenics is inextricably linked with the notion of social Darwinism, which is based on the fact that only certain classes and estates, as well as people with some anthropological signs, deserve to continue their kind.

The ethics of eugenics is based on the fact that people are not born equal, only the most worthy have the right to control the course of human evolution, interfering in the reproductive process. Thus, eugenics is a science that studies human selection.

Criticism of contemporaries

Despite the victorious march of the new science through universities and government offices, not all intellectuals supported its methods. Convinced opponents of eugenic methods were writer Chesterton, American sociologist Lester Ward, as well as biologists Fischer and Haldane, who expressed doubts that sterilization of "defective" could lead to the disappearance of undesirable traits from the human population.

The most numerous and powerful camp of consistent opponents of forced sterilization and artificial selection consisted of representatives of religious organizations. Despite the fact that at first some religious figures took interest in the new science with interest, after 1930 the support stopped. Since the use of eugenic laws was expressed by Pope Pius Xl, who clearly stated that secular authorities have no right to dispose of the bodies of their subjects.

Nazism and lowering the level of research

Reputational problems in eugenics as a science began in the 1930s, when the Nazi geneticist Ernst Rudin undertook to use it to justify the crimes of the Third Reich. By that time it was already quite understandable how natural selection and eugenics work. What is Nazi medicine will become clear a little later, but this link will irrevocably ruin the reputation of eugenic science.

Toward the end of the Second World War, the reputation of eugenics was finally spoiled. A wonderful illustration to the evolution of views on methods of artificial selection is the history of Herbert Wells, who, from a consistent advocate of forced sterilization, has turned into a convinced human rights fighter for thirty years. Including he argued that no one has the right to maim a person, no matter how severe his disease, but, on the contrary, society must take care of him. But, despite the resistance of some members of the public, in Sweden, for example, forced castration of "inferior" was carried out until 1976.

Revival of interest

After exposing the crimes of Nazi Germany, inspired by eugenic studies, the reputation of science seemed to be completely ruined. However, after long oblivion, interest in experiments again returned and the theoretical studies on the genome again revived, but already in the form of respectable genetics.

The United States became the centerpiece of the new eugenic revolution, where there are a sufficient number of high-tech research centers engaged in genetic engineering, cloning and prenatal diagnostics, which occupies a special place in this scientific direction. So the ideas of eugenics found their continuation in genetic engineering.

In 2003, Tanya Simoncelli, then assistant director of criminology at the US government, stated that prenatal genetic diagnosis opens a new era of eugenics, which, unlike the Nazi, should not serve a misanthropic ideology, but respond to the demand of ordinary people.

Rehabilitation of teaching

British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins said in a newspaper article in 2006 that eugenics is the science of the future. He also said that because science was used by Nazi leaders in its own interests, it has a shadow that has prevented objective research in this field for several decades.

The researcher added that, in his opinion, such an approach differs little from the selection in agriculture. Of course, in his justification of the eugenic approach, the scientist is based on the fact that since the Third Reich the ethics of science has not stood still and will be able to answer many difficult questions and help find solutions in ambiguous situations.

However, Dawkins's approach differs significantly from his predecessors. He not so much suggests to influence the result of pregnancy and engage in artificial selection, but insists that eugenics will help a person learn more about himself. For example, after passing the genetic tests, parents will not waste time teaching the child to music if the tests do not show the corresponding abilities. It is assumed that such tests will help improve achievements in sports if people know their strengths and weaknesses. According to Dawkins, genetics and eugenics can become the solution of many problems of the modern world.

What is discrimination is suggested by the International Bioethics Committee, whose members believe that this approach opens the way for discrimination and stigmatization and calls into question the idea of universal equality of people.

Despite the fact that the modern eugenics advocates avoids comparison with the practices of the twentieth century, using the words "reproductive genetics" and "embryonic choice", in fact all these studies are part of human breeding.

One of the most common medical procedures today - prenatal screening - can also be considered as a form of implementing the eugenic approach. From a medical point of view, such screening can prevent the birth of a child with serious genetic abnormalities and hereditary diseases.

Modern eugenics: problems with efficiency

In 1915, Thomas Hunt Morgan first described the difficulties in the implementation of genetic selection in the ways of eugenics, who believed that personal characteristics can not be inherited; for example, he doubted that a propensity for violence and crime could be passed on from parents to children, That inheritance occurs in a social way through education, and not through the genome.

In addition, he cited the results of observations of flies, which showed that negative factors - such as extra pairs of eyes or paws - appear in Drosophila not only as a result of inheritance, but also as a consequence of mutations.

However, today the science of eugenics is based on more advanced technologies. For example, tests that couples pass before conceiving a child can determine whether there is a risk of having a child with a genetic defect and, accordingly, refuse birth in such a case. But even this high-tech test can not be said that it gives 100% protection from error: there are cases when couples who decided to conceive a child despite a negative test result gave birth to healthy children.

Loss of genetic diversity

Specialists in genetics and evolutionary biology sound alarm because excessive enthusiasm for selective policies can lead to degradation of the human population, just as populations living in very small areas or on islands are degraded.

Edward Miller insists that any generation should be given the opportunity to make a small contribution to the evolutionary development of the species and points out that even phenomena that may seem negative to us ultimately are of great importance for biological development.

Opposition to eugenics

Most of the opponents of eugenics point out that, however good the intentions of researchers may be, in the long run all this will lead to actions that are contrary to ethics. To such actions opponents of eugenics refer to compulsory sterilization, genetic discrimination, segregation and, possibly, genocide.

In his basic article on the evolution of Laurie, Andrews argues that the abuse of the opportunity to interfere in the course of evolution will lead to the appearance of the so-called posthuman, which may differ from the modern unpredictable set of qualities. In addition, he recommends not interfering with such fundamental processes as aging and life expectancy, which are just interested in eugenics.

What is human life? What is its meaning and can a person assume the role of a creator? Many experts on bioethics are asking these questions. There are many answers at the moment, but all of them do not seem convincing, which means that more than one generation of biologists, ethics, philosophers and theologians will struggle to solve ethical problems. The problems of eugenics are worthy of being paid the closest attention.