THE LIMITATIONS AND PROMISES OF 



EUGENICS 



Robert K. Nahours' 

 Kiuisas State Af/ricitltitnil College 



IN A letter to Wallace, as long ago 

 as 1857. Darwin said: "You ask 

 whether I shall discuss man. I 

 think I shall avoid the subject as sur- 

 rounded with prejudices ; though I 

 fully admit it is the highest and most 

 interesting- matter for the naturalist." 

 We have made enormous progress 

 along many lines in the sixty-five 

 years since Darwin made this modest 

 but significant statement, but as stu- 

 dents, are we yet able to place our- 

 selves outside the herd and approach 

 the subject of the evolution of human 

 beings and human society in the spirit, 

 and with the method, of science? As 

 Karl Pearson submits the question, 

 "Can we place ourselves outside the 

 community of which we form a part, 

 and study the effects upon it of en- 

 vironment, of occupation, of nourish- 

 ment and of breeding in the same 

 judicial manner as the owner of a 

 herd of shorthorns approaches the 

 like problem ?" This question cannot 

 be answered lightly, "yes" or "no," 

 according to the taste or sentiment or 

 disposition of the individual or the 

 time. 



Complicating any eft'ort at an 

 answer, Pearson suggests that, "We 

 are not in the position of the owners, 

 but we are members of the herd our- 

 selves — with all the feelings of our 

 class, the prejudices of our education, 

 or want of education, the strong emo- 

 tions of our sex and the complex pas- 

 sions of our race." As yet perhaps 

 only the men of medicine and of the 

 judiciary and a rare psychologist, are 

 able to approach the ideal of placing 

 themselves apart, and repressing stern- 

 ly the personal for the furtherance 



and eft^ectiveness of their respective 

 professions. I mean that they can do 

 this and still be interested in, and even 

 love their fellow men, in contradistinc- 

 tion to that cold-blooded, nerveless 

 placing of one's self outside the crowd 

 for base purposes, a feat which can 

 often be accomplished by the lowest 

 and meanest. Outside the noble pro- 

 fessions mentioned, and even some of 

 their members are at times under sus- 

 picion, it is doubtful if the accom- 

 l)lisliment of })lacing one's self apart 

 and outside the herd is more than 

 rarely effectively attained. If, hovv^- 

 ever, it can be agreed that there are 

 even a few who can study human 

 beings and human affairs as cases and 

 largely without the deep prejudices al- 

 ready enumerated, then we have made 

 a promising start and a practical ideal 

 beckons us on. 



The Problem 



An impediment in the path of prog- 

 ress is the question of the goal toward 

 which to drive. Fortunately, so far 

 as can be seen, this need not cause 

 delay in the eugenics movement in 

 the near future. Nevertheless, it will 

 necessarily have to be considered 

 eventually. Is the ideal a race with i>er- 

 fect form and health, the population 

 limited so that there will be abund- 

 ance for all, each individual observing 

 the Golden Rule ; no strife, no wars, 

 all living in harmony and agreement, 

 each for all and all for each ; and 

 everybody living to extreme old age? 

 \Miat a monotonous, uninteresting sit- 

 uation ! Who would want to live 

 there and then? 



Dr. Schiller observes that : 



^ Presidential address before the Kansas .Academy of Science. February 16, 1923. 



277 



