Mrs. Ascoli
AP English
9 October 12, 2014 Argumentative Essay: Eugenics Eugenics has been defined as “The science of improving a human population by controlled breeding to increase the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics.” In other words, eugenics is a process used to rid certain societies of individuals that could potentially be considered weak, or undesirable. Eugenics is an unpopular yet extremely important, and very serious subject. The idea of whether or not Eugenics is considered good or unacceptable is controversial. I believe the latter. Throughout history, eugenics has been used in a negative way to terminate certain beings because of race, religion, and mental or physical handicaps. …show more content…
The practice of eugenics was developed mainly from Francis Galton, a well known psychologist from the middle to late 1800’s. Even before Galton, eugenics was known to have been used with Spartans, as well as many other groups. A popular case of eugenics used in more recent history happened during World War II. The holocaust. One of Hitler’s main goals during his time as dictator was to create the Aryan race. He wanted everyone to look similar; blond hair, blue eyes. To do this, he had to take away the outliers that did not fit the wanted characteristics. Jews, homosexuals, handicapped, and others were exterminated during his time in power. This, in my opinion is completely unacceptable. Killing someone who does not fit society’s idea of perfect is inhumane, to say the …show more content…
Scientifically, eugenics could be viewed as a good practice to use to make a society more successful. I mean if there is only the best of the best to choose from, a society is bound to be great, right? Wrong. I believe that without the ones who could be considered weak, or different, a society is bound to fail. If everyone has the same capabilities, there is no room for improvement. Another thing to consider before taking out those with disabilities is who those people would be. If a society would want to exterminate everyone with handicaps, they would be taking away some of the most intelligent beings alive. For example, Stephen Hawking, a man with ALS, is considered one of the brightest minds in the world. Just because he has a physical handicap, he shouldn’t be given less opportunities or less respect. Arguments siding with eugenics could say that taking away the feeble minded people, could improve a country, or better the place as a whole. I see how this could be true, but I still believe that without these people, nothing would be the same. The differences between people are what make a country, a