Preview

Pros And Cons Of Eugenics

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1346 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Pros And Cons Of Eugenics
In Plato's Republic, he suggested a state-run program of mating that assures the strengthening of his guardian class. Ever since that had philosophers start giving attention to eugenics and its value. However, and to be more specific, Eugenics in its updated version started in the 19th century by the British scientist Sir Francis Galton; the cousin of Charles Darwin. His aimed in creating better individuals by improving the human stock. Galton wanted to work on controlling the mating process and managing its outcomes scientifically. Back in time, he used to think that the presence of weak people in society hinders evolution properly. In this climate, Darwin started a hypothesis that supports the survival of the fittest, then, Galton started …show more content…
Eugenicists used to divide eugenics into two types; positive and negative. To start with the positive type, it addresses the high-class people that have superior genes (intelligence, good health, good looks...) and encourages them to mate and reproduce yielding "good births". On the other hand, the negative type of eugenics discourages the mating of the low-class people that have inferior genes (diseases, disabilities...) to reduced the rates of "bad birth". This procedure assures "selective breeding" in the …show more content…
After the availability of an in-vitro fertilization option to women, they were given the choice to use these sperms to reproduce with men having superior and good quality genes, despite of getting involved in relationships.
Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis is one other technique that helps prospective parents. Upon choosing the in-vitro fertilization, parents can choose to test the cells they are using for preferable genes, or avoid fertilization in case of not preferred ones. In case of in vivo fertilization (the natural way), prenatal genetic tests had a positive impact on that. Prenatal genetic diagnostic tests used to take place during the second trimester traditionally, or during the first trimester recently. These screening tests help prospective parents to identify specific genes and genetic markers of their fetuses. This way, parents can choose to abort fetuses with undesired traits. Talking about the science of eugenics, and how is it really done, we get to define the term

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Eugenics is the sterilization of people who carry a specific trait, therefore, they cannot produce offspring and the trait becomes extinct. The most known form of eugenics occurred during the holocaust when the Nazi’s killed off everyone who did not have blonde hair and blue eyes. They wanted to create a “perfect” society. Due to the Nazi’s killing off the “genetically inferior,” Germany has a very hostel response to the name of genetics and the future that it holds. This shows that this form of DNA technology, is both morally and ethically wrong.…

    • 640 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Every breath, the lungs fill with ice and smoke. Every time the eyes open they have the risk of going blind. Every loud rumble of the stomach is a reminder there is not enough food. Every day is a fight for survival when the body experiences a nuclear winter. A nuclear winter is a colossal nuclear war that changes the climate in great proportion.…

    • 389 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Theodore Roosevelt Eugenics

    • 14350 Words
    • 58 Pages

    The word "eugenics" was coined in 1883 by British mathematician Francis Galton, who defined it as "the science of improving the stock." The eugenics movement, he said, would be dedicated to allowing "the more suitable races or strains of blood a better chance of prevailing speedily over the less suitable." The movement had its heyday from the 1890s to the 1940s, when eugenicists argued that southern Europeans, Jews, people of color, homosexuals, and people with disabilities were inferior to white, heterosexual, able-bodied Protestants of northern European descent. Eugenics made somewhat of a comeback in the 1990s with the advent of genetic in-utero testing, which some see as a new phase in the effort to "purify" society.…

    • 14350 Words
    • 58 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    This final paper will discuss the ongoing debate of genetic/prenatal testing. Procedures for genetic/prenatal testing have been available since the early 1970's (Press, 2008, pp. 73-78). Genetic testing identifies abnormalities or changes in the chromosomes and genes. This type of testing is used to confirm or deny a suspected genetic condition or used to predict a person's chances of developing or passing on a certain disorder (Grant, 2000). Once the woman wants to go ahead with the genetic testing, a primary care doctor or genetic specialist places an order for the test. Genetic testing is often done as part of a genetic consultation (Press, 2008, pp. 73-78). It is very important that the patient knows every aspect of the procedure including…

    • 1673 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    During the 1920’s, science and social legislation came to be intertwined, and the study of human genetic variation was born; this was known as the term eugenics. Eugenics is the improvement of a species by emphasizing the characteristics that are beneficial. Positive eugenics it is the act of improving a species by emphasizing the propagation of those traits that are seen as beneficial. Negative Eugenics is the act of improving the species by preventing the spread of those traits that are seen as dysgenic or harmful.…

    • 1365 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lindsay Diasparra 10/9/14 Sociology Professor Grimaldi The history of Eugenics and evolution of eugenics appeared around the world, The earliest hints of eugenics has its roots in Ancient Greece and Rome. Today, hints of this philosophy remain in modern political and social debate around the world. Eugenics was the pseudoscience aimed at improving the human race. Extremists took this one step further to a more racist form, this meant wiping away (exterminating) all human beings deemed “unfit”, preserving only those humans who conformed to a Nordic stereotype. The Superior species of the eugenics movement sought was populated not only by tall, strong, talented and intelligent people.…

    • 510 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Since the test involves taking only a small blood sample, where a person’s DNA can be found, these tests have a minimal health risk. Genetic testing was initially used in pregnancies to test for diseases like Down's Syndrome and other genetic disorders (“What are the...”). However, thanks to more recent improvements, genetic testing has come to display several weaknesses and strengths. The genes that can be obtained from infants can notify parents of possible physical deficiencies, while others may show physical advantages (Stein).…

    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Why Is Eugenics Flawed

    • 1355 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Eugenics: A Flawed Reproductive Method Eugenics emerged in the late 19th century as a scientific ideology aiming to improve the genetic quality of the human population through selective breeding. Initially hailed as a beacon of progress, it garnered support for its purported ability to weed out undesirable traits and enhance desirable ones, thus improving societal well-being. However, beneath its veneer of promise lie inherent flaws that challenge its ethical foundations and practical implementation. Eugenics is fundamentally flawed because it is often employed for arbitrary reasons, primarily benefits privileged individuals, and inflicts substantial harm upon marginalized populations. Eugenics, despite its claims of improving human genetic stock, is scarred by the arbitrary…

    • 1355 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Eugenics is meant essentially to better the human race. What traits are holding back the human race? Of course, Eugenics is to be used to get rid of genetic diseases, but there is no stopping people from getting rid of other traits. Using Eugenics, society could create an ideal look for people, and influence people to look a certain way. This was the Nazi way of thinking.…

    • 920 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Eugenics Movement was a movement that wanted to improve the human race. They had an idea that there were superior human hereditary traits as well as inferior human hereditary traits. Superior human traits involved having blue eyes, blonde hair, and light skin, all of these traits lead to assumptions that these people were intelligent as well as great athletic ability. Inferior human traits included dark skin and dark colored eyes which lead to the assumption that these people with these traits were unintelligent. The Eugenics Movement used multiple strategies to promote improvements of human hereditary traits, such as anti-miscegenation laws, birth control experimentation, and coercive sterilization. The relationship between the Eugenics…

    • 1450 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Genetic testing, aka DNA testing, allows doctors to check if there are any possibilities to inherit diseases, and can also be used to determine a person's ancestry or biological relationship between people. It is important to understand the background and implications behind genetic testing as testing may be able to identify the odds of have of having a child with a genetic disease, but it can also result in miscarriage. The test often cannot determine if the child will show symptoms of a disease, how severe the symptoms will be, or whether the disease will progress over time. Another thing to take into consideration is the absence of treatment strategies…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “The year 2100 will see eugenics universally established. In past ages, the law governing the survival of the fittest roughly weeded out the less desirable strains. Then man's new sense of pity began to interfere with the ruthless workings of nature. As a result, we continue to keep alive and to breed the unfit. The only method compatible with our notions of civilization and the race is to prevent the breeding of the unfit by sterilization and the deliberate guidance of the mating instinct, Several European countries and a number of states of the American Union sterilize the criminal and the insane. This is not sufficient. The trend of opinion among eugenists is that we must make marriage more difficult. Certainly no one who is not a desirable parent should be permitted to produce progeny. A century from now it will no more occur to a normal person to mate with a person eugenically unfit than to marry a habitual criminal.”…

    • 979 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Eugenics movement started in the late 19th century and eventually became an ideal adopted in countries such as Germany and the United States. The motivation behind this motion was based upon the preservation of sanity within society. Hence, the Eugenics movement was centralized around sterilizing people who exhibited “mental illness, mental retardation or epilepsy.” Many scientists and scholars tried to justify the morality of this conceptualization by stating that “through selective breeding, society would improve.” This idea of Eugenics or “selective breeding” has raised many questions such as the following: Is it ethical for the state to determine who can and cannot breed? Furthermore, why do the “feeble-minded”…

    • 1180 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    As research continues to uncover new disease-causing mutations, the prospect of stopping the transmission of heritable diseases increases. With the use of modern technology, expecting parents can now be prescreened in order to determine their carrier status for certain diseases. Parents who choose to use in vitro fertilization are able to choose embryos that are free of disease due to preimplantation genetic diagnosis. Additionally, parents can be provided with information on their unborn child with the use of prenatal genetic testing. Some individuals view modern genetic technology as eugenic; however, this biggest difference between eugenics now and eugenics during the 1900s is consent. Today individuals pursue genetic testing by choice and policies on ethics and consent prevent reoccurrences of the immoral endeavors within the field of…

    • 585 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    At this point in time, which was the early decades of the 1900’s, war made life chaotic. The acceptance of Eugenics promoted a more peaceful, proper future (which we today can obviously see as being severely incorrect!). Scientifically, Eugenics was also receiving praise. It was viewed as being a way to improve humanity. There was a fear that the intelligent people would have fewer kids, and the “less than adequate” would in turn have more kids. It was believed that this would have a negative impact on natural selection, and be harmful to society. To promote such an idea, there were two main “methods”- positive eugenics and negative eugenics. The former involves trying to promote the healthy/regular people to have children. The negative eugenics system involved using medical and sterilization (which I will discuss more later on) processes to prevent the others from having kids. Awkwardly enough, to be deemed “unfit” and to undergo negative eugenics was not a punishment. After all, people viewed the problem as being a defective…

    • 1800 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays