Eugenics
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23619195 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Massimo Meloni (0000-0003-2570-3872, University of Sheffield, corresponding author), Maurizio Meloni |
| Year | 2017 |
| Pages | 1-3 |
| Publication date | 2017-12-04 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | CHAPTER |
| Venue | Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Theory (SOURCE_BOOK) |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/9781118430873.est0113 |
| OpenAlex | W4251302932 |
| ISBN | 9781118430873 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 8 |
Eugenics is the neologism coined by Galton in 1883 to mean the improvement of the inborn quality of humankind by better breeding. The eugenics movement had a significant political appeal between 1900 and 1945, attracting advocates from across the political spectrum, from the far right to the far left. Eugenics policies were implemented especially through sterilization laws in America and Europe, and often lasted until the 1970s, when civil rights movements undermined their legitimacy. The rise of eugenics was strictly connected to important scientific developments, and in particular the emergence of genetics and the modern view of biological heredity. After 1945, arguments about racial or innate inequalities were increasingly treated with suspicion, and, at least officially, marginalized. However, it remains very much a debated issue how much of the eugenics legacy is still alive in our age with the mapping of the human genome and more recent postgenomic novelties.
Appeal · Biology · Environmental ethics · Eugenics · Galton's problem · Genealogy · Heredity · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Genetics · History · Law · Medical History and Research · Philosophy
| Highly cited | No |
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