Eugenics An Unorthodox Twist - 2386 Words

Tejes Gaertner Senior Division Eugenics: Science with an unorthodox twist Historical Paper Word Count: 1605 Modern day eugenics has the ability to fix faulty characteristics such as baldness, height, and genetic diseases. On the other hand, eugenics has the possibility of defining a person’s value based on heredity. The term Eugenics derives from the Greek word eu meaning good and well, and genos meaning offspring (Modern Eugenics). The ideas rooted in this paradigm have been intertwined in positive and negative events in history. Conventional eugenics (or selective breeding) has been used on plants and animals for thousands of years to yield a more desirable product. Modern day eugenics originates with Francis Dalton who borrowed form Charles Darwin’s work on natural selection to suggest that detrimental behaviors such as Alcoholism and criminal activity were a result of heredity. Although humans have explored eugenics as a way to improve their species, destructive cultures have encountered scientific knowledge, and exchanged ideas about exterminating the weak in order to c reate a better species. An early example of people improving species through selection is the domestication of animals. Animals were used for hunting, warning systems against predators, and companionship (History of Eugenics). Humans wanted powerful animals that could protect their owner, and help produce food and clothing. Humans recognized that the fittest animal comes from theShow MoreRelatedHistory and culture of Never Let Me Go Essay examples1314 Words   |  6 Pagesto illustrate the authors view that our real world practice of eugenics is as equally immoral and degrading as the world he describes. The eugenic-soaked world of Never Let me Go is dystopian, and our real world, with its quiet adoption of soft eugenics, is equally dystopian. Ishiguros point is that utopia can never be attained in either realm if it contains the contagion of eugenics. By depicting unfair struggles that eugenics rigged pre-destination imposes on his oh so human characters