The First Step Of The Eugenics Movement
When Darwin first revealed his theory of evolution, soon-to-be eugenicists were given an entirely new world view (Martinez). They realized that humans are not exempt from the forces of natural selection, and developed methods that would employ it to improve the human condition, essentially creating a new field of study. Morally speaking, in this situation, the newly born field of Eugenics can be considered a fresh, never before seen landscape with no defining features. By working as Eugenicists, individuals begin to survey their new ethical surroundings and make the first tentative decisions concerning it. This is the first step of the Moral Progress Theory (Stich). It states, that when humans are presented with an entirely new situation they
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It culminates in the understanding that humans, over time, will all approach the same moral truth concerning the situation they are faced with (Stich). Assuming this theory is true, the birth and apparent death of the Eugenics Movement can be explained in relatively simple historic terms. In other words, historic events and societal changes are introduced as new facts to be considered and can be used to explain the moral path Eugenics has followed.
Eugenics started out in Britain, following Darwin’s groundbreaking work. Around this time science was conducted and supported with statistical and quantitative evidence; to be a credible scientist, data needed to support the claim (Martinez). Francis Galton, being the father of several statistical methods, naturally employed them in his fledgling examination of human inheritance patterns. Immediately, Eugenics suffers from a bias towards using statistical evidence to support its claims, also explaining how it chronically suffers from poor research practices. Again, merit at the time was based heavily upon the data, and ostensibly less on the substance of the work (Martinez). When the movement finally reached America, it was taken up with great zeal. Wealthy American families funded the creation of the Cold Spring …show more content…
After witnessing the American movement, German scientists adopted Eugenic principles for use in their own country. Following World War I, the German economy was flagging and eugenics was employed in attempts to assist the state (Martinez). Prior to the rise of the Nazi Party, policies called for the involuntary euthanasia of individuals known as lebensunwertes or “lives not worthy of life” who suffered from incurable mental or physical diseases (Goering). With the advent of World War II, eugenics became the justification for the Nazi party’s extremist policies. In a show of maximal Negative Eugenics, Nazis would enforce sterilization, euthanasia labeled as “mercy killing”, concentration camps, and overall genocide (Martinez). Seeing as how the United States fought with Germany in this conflict and witnessed first-hand the atrocities committed in pursuit of an Aryan race, eugenics quickly fell into the realm of unethical practices. The American Eugenics Society even changed their name to the Society for the Study of Social Biology following the war (Goering). Moral Progress theory suggests that World War II added an additional fact to the Eugenics Movement, and a new perspective was added to humanity’s understanding of the field’s moral value in consequence. It became less
It culminates in the understanding that humans, over time, will all approach the same moral truth concerning the situation they are faced with (Stich). Assuming this theory is true, the birth and apparent death of the Eugenics Movement can be explained in relatively simple historic terms. In other words, historic events and societal changes are introduced as new facts to be considered and can be used to explain the moral path Eugenics has followed.
Eugenics started out in Britain, following Darwin’s groundbreaking work. Around this time science was conducted and supported with statistical and quantitative evidence; to be a credible scientist, data needed to support the claim (Martinez). Francis Galton, being the father of several statistical methods, naturally employed them in his fledgling examination of human inheritance patterns. Immediately, Eugenics suffers from a bias towards using statistical evidence to support its claims, also explaining how it chronically suffers from poor research practices. Again, merit at the time was based heavily upon the data, and ostensibly less on the substance of the work (Martinez). When the movement finally reached America, it was taken up with great zeal. Wealthy American families funded the creation of the Cold Spring …show more content…
After witnessing the American movement, German scientists adopted Eugenic principles for use in their own country. Following World War I, the German economy was flagging and eugenics was employed in attempts to assist the state (Martinez). Prior to the rise of the Nazi Party, policies called for the involuntary euthanasia of individuals known as lebensunwertes or “lives not worthy of life” who suffered from incurable mental or physical diseases (Goering). With the advent of World War II, eugenics became the justification for the Nazi party’s extremist policies. In a show of maximal Negative Eugenics, Nazis would enforce sterilization, euthanasia labeled as “mercy killing”, concentration camps, and overall genocide (Martinez). Seeing as how the United States fought with Germany in this conflict and witnessed first-hand the atrocities committed in pursuit of an Aryan race, eugenics quickly fell into the realm of unethical practices. The American Eugenics Society even changed their name to the Society for the Study of Social Biology following the war (Goering). Moral Progress theory suggests that World War II added an additional fact to the Eugenics Movement, and a new perspective was added to humanity’s understanding of the field’s moral value in consequence. It became less