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. [[1]]

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.

The modern field and term were first formulated by Sir Francis Galton in 1883, drawing on the recent work of his cousin Charles Darwin. From its inception eugenics was supported by prominent people, including H. G. Wells, Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, Emile Zola, George Bernard Shaw, John Maynard Keynes, William Keith Kellogg, Margaret Sanger, Winston Churchill, and Sidney Webb.

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.

The biggest barrier against the experiments was choosing the right people, in other words, subjects, whose nonexistence was not going to create a big devaluation in society and public order would not be disrupted. Generally, logic stands in front of experiments were its involving humans and the possibility of causing public discomfort. The desire to achieve the scientifically impossible led professors to overlook logic or morals. On the other hand, the emergence of the movement led a lot of science people to debate the issues within it among each other to find more appropriate ways of engaging with it. On the other hand, not all the professors who shared their knowledge and opinions were considering Eugenics as the best possible way of developing the human race; this divided the scientific community into two groups. Those who expressed their disapproval did so according to their ideologies and drew attention to global norms that humanity should pursue and maintain. They believed that the negative aspects of the movement would top any the positive ones of its scientific aspect and this would deny the human, or subject, its freedom. The Eugenics movement, with its perceived scientificity, created a moral discomfort in society and consequently damaged the trust in science.

Purpose of Eugenics

The Eugenics movement can be traced back to the time the Renaissance had started and the innovations grew in numbers. Geographic expeditions were triggered by nations to gain resources needed in Europe by bypassing Islamic countries. Even though the intention was political and military based, the broad opportunities of commanders led them to use their power on the indigenous inhabitants of many continents.