Eugenics
Eugenics is a social movement that reached its peak in the 20th C, however, proponents still exist today.
(1) Define eugenics in your own words.
It is not difficult to decipher the meaning of the word eugenics if a person gives it some thought. There are three parts to the word: eu gene ics. The first part of the word means “good,” and a person does not have to study Latin to know this, but it helps. If we know that Euthanasia is the “good death” or that Europe means “good land,” then we can figure it out. Of course, the second part of the word means “genes,” and any good student of biology knows that “genes” are the codes found in the alleles that determine particular traits such as hair color, skin color, and other factors that affect the way that a creature or being will be manifest when fully grown or mature. And finally “ics” means the study of or the practice of something. In fact, we actually see the core of the word in practice itself. For example, the practice of aerobics would mean the practice of exercising the body vigorously, and so on. Thus, eugenics would mean that it is the study of or the practice of “good genes.” This is the literal definition of the word, and it is the denotation of the word—the way that the word can be broken down and analyzed for what it literally means.
(2) A negative connotation surrounds eugenics. Explain if eugenics can be practiced ethically if at all.
Words, of course, are tricky units of meaning, and in addition to their denotation, one does have to consider the connotation of the word in order to understand how one’s expressions and efforts to discuss certain issues are going to be understood. This is especially true of scientific endeavors where one might want to express something on a scientific level and consider certain issues from that perspective, but the words themselves can get in the way because they acquire particular histories in the human language. That is one of the problems
(1) Define eugenics in your own words.
It is not difficult to decipher the meaning of the word eugenics if a person gives it some thought. There are three parts to the word: eu gene ics. The first part of the word means “good,” and a person does not have to study Latin to know this, but it helps. If we know that Euthanasia is the “good death” or that Europe means “good land,” then we can figure it out. Of course, the second part of the word means “genes,” and any good student of biology knows that “genes” are the codes found in the alleles that determine particular traits such as hair color, skin color, and other factors that affect the way that a creature or being will be manifest when fully grown or mature. And finally “ics” means the study of or the practice of something. In fact, we actually see the core of the word in practice itself. For example, the practice of aerobics would mean the practice of exercising the body vigorously, and so on. Thus, eugenics would mean that it is the study of or the practice of “good genes.” This is the literal definition of the word, and it is the denotation of the word—the way that the word can be broken down and analyzed for what it literally means.
(2) A negative connotation surrounds eugenics. Explain if eugenics can be practiced ethically if at all.
Words, of course, are tricky units of meaning, and in addition to their denotation, one does have to consider the connotation of the word in order to understand how one’s expressions and efforts to discuss certain issues are going to be understood. This is especially true of scientific endeavors where one might want to express something on a scientific level and consider certain issues from that perspective, but the words themselves can get in the way because they acquire particular histories in the human language. That is one of the problems