• Question: Do you believe in the idea of Eugenics even if Hitler took it too far?

    Asked by stinley to Mike, Pip, Tianfu, Tim, Tom on 27 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: Tim Stephens

      Tim Stephens answered on 27 Jun 2012:

      I don’t agree with Eugenics.

    • Photo: Tom Lister

      Tom Lister answered on 27 Jun 2012:

      Let’s ignore the political side of things for now (I know that’s a lot to ignore, but we’re just talking about the idea rather than the practicalities).

      I think eugenics is an overly simplistic way of looking at a complex thing. For a start, there is the idea that some genes are better than others – this can only be the case for our current environment and reducing the diversity of our species genes can only be a bad thing, leaving us more vulnerable to disease and less able to adapt. Apparently, the whole human population has the same genetic diversity as one pack of gorillas, so we don’t have a lot to play with in the first place.

      Also, it assumes that a lot of what we inherit from our parents is genetic, which I feel is an outdated view – there’s a lot more stuff in a sperm and egg than that, plus we inherit a lot of stuff in other ways (like my dad’s terrible taste in music).

      So no, I don’t agree with the principles of eugenics, nor the moral consequences of a eugenics programme.

Comments

  • Photo: stinley

    stinley commented on :

    I agree. I think that you can’t kill people just because they are different and if you try and change the human gene pool it could have devastating effects in the future. But say in a tribe or uncivilised community getting rid of the weak is necessary. because when your fighting for survival they can’t let the weak weigh them down.