The Emergence of the Eugenic Movement, and Aborigines

Aborigines

Indigenous Australians, or Aborigines, are descendants of the first known human inhabitants of the Australian continent and its nearby islands. Although they were less in population compared to the settlers, their historical past and the way they were examined bring us to a result that states their importance. As most of the other indigenous peoples, from different continents or countries, they were also routed out of their own houses and used for different purposes. They were used as subjects of experimental colonialist studies and never got respect for their lives and the past they had for thousands years. As a result, their history was written far beyond what they were and how they lived. For many years, even after the projects came to an end, effects of assimilation and eugenic studies continued to have an impact on their lives.

Eugenics

Eugenics is a social philosophy which advocates the improvement of human hereditary traits through various forms of intervention. If a clear definition should be given, we could say that eugenics is about improving the human herd; for needs of a "better future", it meant to create healthier, stronger and/or more intelligent people, to save resources, and to lessen human suffering while achieving racial perfection. Harry H. Laughin used a picture in his book to illustrate what the eugenics movement: He pictures a tree, and added Eugenics to the top. Eugenics draws its materials from many sources (any source to use as improvement) and organizes them into a harmonious entity, which will become a "new" human at the end.

When, Where, How

Eugenic ideas were first introduced as a positive branch of genetic studies, which can also be named as a study of "improving human genetic qualities." It is sometimes broadly applied to describe any human action whose goal is to improve the gene pool. Although the main idea and intention was revolutionary and somewhat logical, it was in conflict with the concept of a civilized world in addition to morals and ethic values of humanity. Because of its normative goals and historical association with scientific racism, as well as the development of the science of genetics, the Western scientific community has mostly disassociated itself from the term "eugenics" intentionally to avoid scathing criticisms on their way to build up "handmade" being. However, some professors continued to express their opinions to clarify the subject and help the community understand the movement better.