288 GENETICS AND EUGENICS 



If Dr. Goddard is right in the opinion that feeble-minded- 

 ness is responsible for much crime of various sorts, for much 

 drunkenness and pauperism, it would seem that the easiest 

 way to attempt to diminish these evils would be by attempt- 

 ing to diminish feeble-mindedness. Hence the importance 

 of his undertaking to get at the causes of feeble-mindedness. 



Dr. Goddard divides his three hundred and twenty-seven 

 cases, as regards the probable causes of the observed feeble- 

 mindedness, into six groups: 



1. Hereditary 164 



2. Probably hereditary 34 



3. Neuropathic ancestry (a possible cause) 37 



4. Accident (to mother or child, as disease) 57 



5. No cause assignable 8 



6. Unclassified 27 



327 



From this table it will be seen that he regards the feeble- 

 mindedness as clearly hereditary in half of the families 

 studied, while it is " probably hereditary " in 10 per cent 

 more. Heredity then is the largest single discoverable cause 

 for feeble-mindedness. Neuropathic ancestry and accident 

 are also recognized as probable causes in a small percentage 

 of cases each, but it is not to be expected that feeble-minded- 

 ness so produced would prove hereditary. He can find no 

 evidence that hereditary feeble-mindedness is caused by a 

 variety of agencies to which it is frequently referred, as for 

 example to alcoholism, tuberculosis, syphilis, insane, epilep- 

 tic or paralytic ancestry, etc. 



Most feeble-mindedness, then, is due to heredity, but how 

 did the character become hereditary ? How did it originate ? 

 Goddard does not attempt to answer this question, but he 

 does make clear his view that the feeble mind is an unde- 

 veloped childish mind. His observations show that the 

 physical vigor of the feeble-minded equals that of normal 

 individuals and that the feeble-minded are even more fecund 

 than normal individuals owing to their lack of normal pru- 

 dence and self-control. It might be supposed, therefore, 



