Influence of Sir Francis Galton on Psychological Science
Influence of Sir Francis Galton on Psychological Science
“I conclude that each generation has enormous power over the natural gifts of those that follow, and maintain that it is a duty we owe to humanity to investigate the range of that power, and to exercise it in a way that, without being unwise towards ourselves, shall be most advantageous to future inhabitants of the earth” (Sir Francis Galton, 1869).
These words of Sir Frances Galton introducing his book, Hereditary Genius, are both inspiring as well as troubling. On one hand, he expresses the importance of seeking to maximize human potential and gifts. On the other hand, some have taken his words to mean that some human lives are more valuable than others. His life’s work would, among other contributions, seek to explore human differences and philosophically apply the findings toward the betterment of mankind.
Background
Galton was born in early Victorian era England and lived from 1822-1911 to a wealthy banking family. He is cousin to Charles Darwin, and many of his contributions to psychology were greatly influenced by Darwin’s evolutionary theories. Besides having the advantage of wealth and being born into a scientifically-minded family already, Galton was a child prodigy and genius who made significant contributions in many disciplines. He learned to read at age two, and by age six he was already reading complex adult works such as Shakespeare. He attained his degree at Cambridge University in 1843, and began medical school, however he soon dropped out to explore independent pursuits. Obsessed with measurement, Galton pursued map-making, weather forecasting, anthropometrics, discovered identification through fingerprinting, and explored a variety of other biological, genetic, and mathematical forms of measurement. He even tried to determine the effectiveness of prayer, but found it to be ineffective according to his requirements. Excited by his cousin Darwin’s studies on heredity and “survival
“I conclude that each generation has enormous power over the natural gifts of those that follow, and maintain that it is a duty we owe to humanity to investigate the range of that power, and to exercise it in a way that, without being unwise towards ourselves, shall be most advantageous to future inhabitants of the earth” (Sir Francis Galton, 1869).
These words of Sir Frances Galton introducing his book, Hereditary Genius, are both inspiring as well as troubling. On one hand, he expresses the importance of seeking to maximize human potential and gifts. On the other hand, some have taken his words to mean that some human lives are more valuable than others. His life’s work would, among other contributions, seek to explore human differences and philosophically apply the findings toward the betterment of mankind.
Background
Galton was born in early Victorian era England and lived from 1822-1911 to a wealthy banking family. He is cousin to Charles Darwin, and many of his contributions to psychology were greatly influenced by Darwin’s evolutionary theories. Besides having the advantage of wealth and being born into a scientifically-minded family already, Galton was a child prodigy and genius who made significant contributions in many disciplines. He learned to read at age two, and by age six he was already reading complex adult works such as Shakespeare. He attained his degree at Cambridge University in 1843, and began medical school, however he soon dropped out to explore independent pursuits. Obsessed with measurement, Galton pursued map-making, weather forecasting, anthropometrics, discovered identification through fingerprinting, and explored a variety of other biological, genetic, and mathematical forms of measurement. He even tried to determine the effectiveness of prayer, but found it to be ineffective according to his requirements. Excited by his cousin Darwin’s studies on heredity and “survival
References: Bulmer, M. (2003). Francis Galton : pioneer of heredity and biometry. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Galton, F. 1869. Hereditary Genius. London: Macmillan Hergenhahn, B. (2009). An introduction to the history of psychology (6th ed.). Australia ;;Belmont CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.