Galton & Eugenics * “Science of improving the stock” 1) Goal to prove so-called superior race through selective breeding * Breed people from "genetically superior groups” 2) Discourage/prohibit breeding among genetically “inferior groups” * Ex#4. Galton & IQ Critical Review/Limitations: 1. Race classification schemes questionable 2.…
Galton said “the first objects of eugenics is to check the birth rate of the unfit instead of allowing them to come into being…the second object is the improvement of the race by furthering the productivity of the fit by early marriages and the healthful rearing of children.” He is also quoted as saying “…average Negroes posses too little intellect, self-reliance, and self-control to make it possible for them to sustain the burden of any respectable form of civilization without a large measure of external guidance and…
In her piece for the Catholic weekly publication America, “Race in America: ‘We Would Like to Believe We Are Over the Problem,” Maryann Cusimano Love argues that racial issues are still present in America today. Love argues mostly against Delegate Hargrove’s suggestion that it is counterproductive to dwell on the past because not a soul today had anything to do with slavery. Love presents a strong argument that inequalities of the past still persist today…
This essay will analyze the Darwinism Theory and how it was used to classify some people as inferior and justify actions against them. We will also look at how Social Darwinism and Eugenics effected the immigrant experience in America. Lastly why did Fundamentalist Christians opposed Darwinism.…
In Necropolitics, Mbembe is quoted stating “the ultimate expression of sovereignty resides, to a large degree, in the power and the capacity to dictate who may live and who must die.” Through translation this means that the highest expression of power is having the position to control and manipulate who can and cannot live. In a way this quote connects to eugenics also. According to Wikipedia, eugenics is an applied science which promotes practices that can improve the genetic makeup of an entire population. Mbembe’s quote dealt with being able to control who lives and who dies while eugenics is all about how they can eliminate a population before it’s even created by biologically enhancing the current population to create a new generation of “more desired people.” The practice of Eugenics is not only morally wrong but can also be seen as racist, because the practice of eugenics can be used to where a certain race can no longer exist or a certain race will have to reproduce with a “higher” race in order to knock out future generations of that specific race.…
The novel Fledgling by Octavia Butler analyses race relations and eugenics in society. Through the use of another intelligent species Butler lets the reader experience what happens when humans are not at the top of the food chain. While making the reader question the controversy over the use of eugenics and genetic engineering, Butler uses the story as a parallel of race relations in America.…
The term ‘eugenics’ was conceived by Sir Francis Galton (Charles Darwin’s cousin and the inventor of composite photography) in the 19th century. Eugenic practice includes the systematic elimination of so-called ‘undesirable’ biological traits and the use of selective breeding to ‘improve’ the characteristics of an organism or species.1 One branch of eugenics held that the rich and powerful were genetically superior to the poor, and that whites were in general superior to other races. Such a philosophy has provided convenient justification for a system of structuring inequities. 1904 Steel magnate Andrew Carnegie establishes a center for the study of “hybridized peoples,” whose researchers seek to understand the “idleness, the inconstancy…and… inadequate…
The turbulent economic and social conditions following the civil war, formulated the perfect storm to create American eugenics. While the working class increased its population and organizational skills, the rich saw this as a problem that needed to be dealt with appropriately. The traditional approaches to solving this problems seemed to not work. Labor unions and the rise of American socialist party's only added to the "problem". This is when the upper class turned to the “science” of eugenics. In Europe, eugenics seemed to be a possible way to blame their immigration problem at the time with it being a problem with the emigrant's genes. In my opinion this eugenic view of society has not entirely left the minds of contemporary politicians or upper class citizens. The idea that people can be grouped and targeted through their genes or race isn't a new view. Eugenics was only a new form of racism and prejudice. Many ideals of eugenics can still be seen when politicians discuss immigration and the civil rights of different…
Post-racial America means "a theoretical environment in which the United States is free from racial preference, discrimination, and prejudice" (Wikipedia). Despite America being a multicultural, heterogeneous country, often referred to as a "melting pot", such idealistic concept seems to be a far-fetched dream. Many saw the election of Barack Obama, the country's first black president, as a step forward in race relations and a sign that America is willing to put its racist past behind. After all, racism and ethnic discrimination in the United States has been a major issue since the colonial and the slave eras. However, even today it is arguable whether we can call the American society free from racial discrimination, hostility, hate crimes, and the unjust treatment of minorities. Statistics and poll results prove the doubts in the existence of post-racial society.…
Racism. The prediction of decisions and policies on consideration of race for the purpose of subordinating a racial group and maintaining control over it (Carmichael & Hamilton, 1967). There are two forms of racism in America: individual and institutional. The first consist of acts that are performed by individuals that which results in injury, destruction of property and maybe even death. The latter, institutional, is less detectable, when it comes to specific individuals executing the acts but is as detrimental to the human life as if it was an act done by an individual. Institutional racism originates from the established, respected and powerful forces and reap less humiliation than individual racism. In the end it is institutional racism that keeps African Americans uneducated, behind bars, and living in…
References: Kossy, D. (2001). Eugenics. In Strange Creations (pp. 117-156). Los Angeles, CA: Feral House.…
The idea of utilitarianism stifles in the moral attributions of society itself. The belief that a social composition should prioritize and emphasize the usefulness of one’s individuality prompts the prosecution of those who are considered socially useless as morally justified: “The Nazi biomedical vision included the belief that certain ‘race’ are superior to others; that scientific management could solve social problems… to improve the genetic composition of their citizenry in hope of creating a society in which individuals would be economically useful” (Bekier). Seemingly, Nazi Germany perceived the prospect of utilitarianism to have the sense of ‘good’ moral judgement. This manipulation of moral values detain the functions of the social construct in agreement to a perceived goal, even if the violations of human existentialism are of prominent distinction. In addition, Nazi Germany believed that, biologically, certain types of humans contained infrequencies in the cellular genome. For this cause, the superior race are in obligation to eliminate certain genetic traits and override the natural discourse of evolutionary biology in order to pertain in social…
Our readings re emphasized what we teach our children today; that race has no validity as a biological category. It also went on to explain how race emerged in Europe in the 17th century, along with the growth of colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade. Establishing the culture that's more “advanced” as the one which is more biologically evolved. Creating evolutionary rank off of irrelevant indicators such as scull size, and calling other less understood groups primitive.…
ANT1005 – NATASHA ORR – 630024403 What light is shed by the Mead-‐Freeman debate on core problems in the discipline of anthropology? “He attacked Mead in many ways – he told the anthropologists that their God was wrong.” (Fox, Margaret Mead and Samoa, 1988) In 1925-‐26, Margaret Mead spent some nine months in Samoa, and as a result of her research there into the life of adolescent girls, she published the book, Coming of Age in Samoa (1928). The specific question she focused…
However, Goring, funded by the British government, together with Galton used Darwin's ideas about how natural selection supports the survival of a species. Galton thought that humanity is the only biological species on Earth that evades the benevolent impact of natural selection through the development of civilization. This reduces the pressure of natural selection in human society, which, in turn, worsens the physical and mental constitution of offspring, leading to degeneration. According to Rafter, “Galton invented the term eugenics to denote efforts to breed better human beings and prevent reproduction by the unfit” (Rafter, 2011 p.237). In other words, Galton believed, that the best should choose the best as a result healthy, beautiful,…