Definitions for eugenics
yuˈdʒɛn ɪkseu·gen·ics

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. eugenicsnoun

   the study of methods of improving genetic qualities by selective breeding (especially as applied to human mating)

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. eugenicsnoun

   The science of improving stock, whether human or animal.

2. eugenicsnoun

   A social philosophy which advocates the improvement of human hereditary qualities through selective breeding.

3. Etymology: Comes from meaning "good breeding". Coined in 1883 by an English scientist, Francis Galton, who was cousin of Charles Darwin.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Eugenics

   Eugenics ( yoo-JEN-iks; from Ancient Greek εύ̃ (eû) 'good, well', and -γενής (genḗs) 'come into being, growing') is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or promoting those judged to be superior. In recent years, the term has seen a revival in bioethical discussions on the usage of new technologies such as CRISPR and genetic screening, with a heated debate on whether these technologies should be called eugenics or not.The concept predates the term; Plato suggested applying the principles of selective breeding to humans around 400 BC. Early advocates of eugenics in the 19th century regarded it as a way of improving groups of people. In contemporary usage, the term eugenics is closely associated with scientific racism. Modern bioethicists who advocate new eugenics characterize it as a way of enhancing individual traits, regardless of group membership. While eugenic principles have been practiced as early as ancient Greece, the contemporary history of eugenics began in the late 19th century, when a popular eugenics movement emerged in the United Kingdom, and then spread to many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and most European countries. In this period, people from across the political spectrum espoused eugenic ideas. Consequently, many countries adopted eugenic policies, intended to improve the quality of their populations' genetic stock. Such programs included both positive measures, such as encouraging individuals deemed particularly "fit" to reproduce, and negative measures, such as marriage prohibitions and forced sterilization of people deemed unfit for reproduction. Those deemed "unfit to reproduce" often included people with mental or physical disabilities, people who scored in the low ranges on different IQ tests, criminals and "deviants", and members of disfavored minority groups. The eugenics movement became associated with Nazi Germany and the Holocaust when the defense of many of the defendants at the Nuremberg trials of 1945 to 1946 attempted to justify their human-rights abuses by claiming there was little difference between the Nazi eugenics programs and the U.S. eugenics programs. In the decades following World War II, with more emphasis on human rights, many countries began to abandon eugenics policies, although some Western countries (the United States, Canada, and Sweden among them) continued to carry out forced sterilizations. Since the 1980s and 1990s, with new assisted reproductive technology procedures available, such as gestational surrogacy (available since 1985), preimplantation genetic diagnosis (available since 1989), and cytoplasmic transfer (first performed in 1996), concern has grown about the possible revival of a more potent form of eugenics after decades of promoting human rights. A criticism of eugenics policies is that, regardless of whether negative or positive policies are used, they are susceptible to abuse because the genetic selection criteria are determined by whichever group has political power at the time. Furthermore, many criticize negative eugenics in particular as a violation of basic human rights, seen since 1968's Proclamation of Tehran, as including the right to reproduce. Another criticism is that eugenics policies eventually lead to a loss of genetic diversity, thereby resulting in inbreeding depression due to a loss of genetic variation. Yet another criticism of contemporary eugenics policies is that they propose to permanently and artificially disrupt millions of years of human evolution, and that attempting to create genetic lines "clean" of "disorders" can have far-reaching ancillary downstream effects in the genetic ecology, including negative effects on immunity and on species resilience.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. eugenics

   Eugenics is a controversial science or ideology that aims at improving the genetic quality of the human population through selective breeding, often advocating for the sterilization, euthanasia, or elimination of individuals with undesirable traits. It was popular in the early 20th century, but has been largely discredited and rejected due to its association with human rights abuses, racism, and genocide.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Eugenicsnoun

   the science of improving stock, whether human or animal

FreebaseRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Eugenics

   Eugenics is the bio-social movement which advocates practices to improve the genetic composition of a population, usually a human population. It is a social philosophy advocating the improvement of human hereditary traits through the promotion of higher reproduction of more desired people and traits, and reduced reproduction of less desired people and traits.

U.S. National Library of MedicineRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Eugenics

   The attempt to improve the PHENOTYPES of future generations of the human population by fostering the reproduction of those with favorable phenotypes and GENOTYPES and hampering or preventing BREEDING by those with "undesirable" phenotypes and genotypes. The concept is largely discredited. (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed)

Matched Categories

1. • Life Science

How to pronounce eugenics?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say eugenics in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of eugenics in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of eugenics in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of eugenics in a Sentence

1. Johanna Schoen:

   Eugenics -- at its core -- is based on the state making reproductive decisions for others. Indiana's law basically does the same thing, limiting a woman's reproductive autonomy, he is tying eugenics to particular reproductive technologies -- here abortion -- instead of recognizing that eugenic laws robbed women of their ability to make their own reproductive decisions -- the state decided for them.

2. A.E. Samaan:

   The claim that Darwin’s theories were at the core of eugenics, the racial science at the core of Nazism, are not new. They are not revisionist history made upon the revelations of the Death Camps. These claims precede The Holocaust by several decades. American and British icons of science, namely Darwin’s relatives and colleagues, were making this claim before Adolf Hitler was even born, and continued to do so on up through the end of WWII.

3. A.E. Samaan:

   Of the tens of thousands of words spoken during the Nuremberg Nazi trial, the word eugenics was said only once.

4. Johanna Schoen:

   For a long time, opponents of abortion have charged that abortion threatens those deemed undesirable in society, in arguing that Indiana's law that bans abortion based solely on race, disability or sex, could one day pass legal muster, Thomas is harkening back to the eugenics movement of the early 20th century.

5. A.E. Samaan:

   American newspapers frequently offered praise for eugenics just prior to WWII and The Holocaust .... that is, until Hitler revealed what eugenics really looked like. They avoided the subject for decades thereafter.

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