The historical field of Eugenics, as it was understood by its practitioners and advocates at the time, was rooted in a teleological view of evolution. One in which some kinds may be said to be more “evolved” than another.
-
-
Show this thread
-
The central thesis of eugenics was based on erroneous thinking about natural selection. Eugenicists viewed their job as increasing fitness – or preventing a decline in fitness – something that was no longer happening due to the survival and prolificness of the poor.
Show this thread -
The eugenics movement took place at the height of a moral panic about dysgenics: the view that there were objectively inferior kinds which were out-breeding the superior kinds.
Show this thread -
They viewed “fitness” as something other than the ability to pass on genes, otherwise there would have been no need for eugenics and no fear of dysgenics: the most fit organisms are, by definition, those that are more likely to pass on their genes.
Show this thread -
What was objectively inferior about the breeding poor? Mutation load. They believed (incorrectly) that most mutations were deleterious and therefore good breeding stock had low heterozygosity while defective characteristics were caused by build up of mutations.
Show this thread -
Eventually it was discovered that heterozygosity was far from rare (or bad) and that most mutations were neutral. Meanwhile the emergence of the modern synthesis drove out the teleological approaches to evolution. This all happened around 1940-60, and eugenics died shortly after
Show this thread -
Key points: 1) Eugenicists were trying to create objectively better humans, not select for subjectively-valued traits. 2) Eugenics died when the emergence of modern evolutionary genetics showed it to be impossible (not just unethical).
Show this thread -
Quote tweeting this because it's worth noting this "all good traits are correlated" assumption more explicitly. Legacies of this kind of reasoning are common in modern "Hereditarian" arguments.https://twitter.com/arthur_affect/status/1229006460773756928 …
Show this thread -
It's also present in the pro-eugenics comments made by Boris Johnson's new advisor (opposition to which seems to have inspired
@RichardDawkins tweet in the first place). https://schoolsweek.co.uk/andrew-sabisky-political-forecaster/ …pic.twitter.com/2zKYjDavbk
Show this thread -
Unfortunately due to my recent low productivity I have nothing new/relevant to promote, but those who liked this thread may also enjoy this tangentially relevant Youtube video:https://youtu.be/2FcpNZ2BEgY
Show this thread
End of conversation
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.