Eugenics question?

why is eugenics is seen in such a negative light? why is it a bad thing?
Eugenics question?
Playing god is usually looked at in a very negative light in our culture. It%26#039;s associated with Nazism.





Also, although the altruistic intents of eugenicists are admirable, the actual IMPLEMENTATION of eugenics has a history of being extremely violent, racist, sexist, and generally, is associated with state-sponsored sterilization or even genocide.





Like communism, eugenics is good in theory, but causes enormous amounts of suffering in actual practice.
Eugenics question?
You shall not Murder (Kill) Says the Lord God.


TEN COMMANDMENTS


What right does a man have to take away Life that He did not give in the first place?


What right does a man have to say, I am the perfect representation of man and no other shall exist?


Exd 23:7


Keep yourself far from a false matter; do not kill the innocent and righteous. For I will not justify the wicked.
Reply:It is the reason - behind the use of eugenics - that can make it negative.





One attempted implementation of a form of eugenics was a %26quot;genius sperm bank%26quot; (1980鈥?9) created by Robert Klark Graham, from which nearly 230 children were conceived (the best known donors were Nobel Prize winners William Shockley and J.D.Watson). In the United States - there are some states that require a blood test prior to marriage. While these tests are typically restricted to the detection of the sexually transmitted disease syphilis (which was the most common STD at the time these laws were enacted), some partners will voluntarily test for other diseases and genetic incompatibilities.





Eugenics is a social philosophy which advocates the improvement of human hereditary traits through various forms of intervention. Proposed means of achieving these goals focused on selective breeding, while modern ones focus on prenatal testing and screening, genetic counseling, birth control, in vitro fertilization, and genetic engineering.





Historically, a minority of eugenics advocates have used it as a justification for state-sponsored discrimination, forced sterilization of persons deemed genetically defective, and the killing of institutionalized populations. Eugenics was also used to rationalize certain aspects of the Holocaust.





Since the postwar period, both the public and the scientific communities have associated eugenics with Nazi abuses, such as enforced racial hygiene, human experimentation, and the extermination of undesired population groups. However, developments in genetic, genomic, and reproductive technologies at the end of the 20th century have raised many new questions and concerns about what exactly constitutes the meaning of eugenics and what its ethical and moral status is in the modern era. 鈾?br>Reply:1. because inevitably, eugenics requires that *someone decide* who is fit to reproduce and who isn%26#039;t, and every someone has values and an agenda related to their own interests, not the interest of the species. Even those who profess to have humanity%26#039;s progress and happiness at heart, are operating according to a set of cultural values, which are always narrow minded and shortsighted in some sense, whether they are elitist or not.





2. because if we bred ourselves to have certain traits, the earth environment might change in such a way that we were all unfit to survive. Nature provides the amount of variation needed to make us resilient enough to survive as a species.





3. eugenics privileges the interest of society over that of individual, but there is no %26quot;correct%26quot; way to define which is more morally important, or whether that is good or bad. It%26#039;s good for those who are arbitrarily defined as breeders, and bad for those who aren%26#039;t, but that%26#039;s all that can be rationally said about it.





4. eugenics involves physically coercing people to not reproduce, which is violent aggressive harm, and prohibitions against violent aggressive harm are necessary for civilization.
Reply:It is better to let nature have it%26#039;s way . Once man%26#039;s hand get involved it turns nasty .
Reply:That is an interesting question. I think it has more to do with historical reasons than with philosophical or rational reasons. Eugenics used to be favored by many good people in the US. It was seen as a way to help eliminate various problems which had a genetic basis. Then it became associated with Hitler, plans for %26quot;master races,%26quot; and forced sterilizations and fell out of favor.





Why it is bad, if it is bad will depend on the form it takes. Sterilizing poor people, petty criminals, or those with mental problems does seem to be very seriously wrong. Allowing a woman to use genetic data to choose sperm from a sperm bank doesn%26#039;t seem to be wrong at all. And of course evolutionary psychology indicates that when we choose a mate we are practicing eugenics (we tend to pick mates, unconsciously or consciously, who appear to have the best set of genes.)





Today the debate takes the form of genetic manipulation. So far there is near universal condemnation of parents being able to select the genes of their child. Most likely this opposition will, like opposition to many new technologies, fade with time.





Michael Jenkins: Eugenics does not involve killing.
Reply:Hello --





Are you sure about this ... eugenics might not be such a bad thing -- A lot people have considered it a very positive idea.





Get a good definition: and then ask yourself %26quot;What kind of children do I want?%26quot;


Welcome to real eugenics!





My guess is that it has something to do with racist ideology and practices in Hitler%26#039;s Germany.





W. H.