Stephen Wilkinson
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199273966
- eISBN:
- 9780191706585
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199273966.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, Political Philosophy
To what extent should parents be allowed to use selection technologies (such as preimplantation genetic diagnosis) to determine the characteristics of their children? And is there something morally ...
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To what extent should parents be allowed to use selection technologies (such as preimplantation genetic diagnosis) to determine the characteristics of their children? And is there something morally wrong with parents who wish to do this? Choosing Tomorrow's Children provides answers to these questions. In particular, the book applies the techniques of philosophical bioethics to address issues raised by selective reproduction, the practice of choosing between different possible future persons by selecting or deselecting (for example) embryos, eggs, and sperm. It offers answers to questions including the following. Do children have a ‘right to an open future’ and, if they do, what moral constraints does this place upon selective reproduction? Under what circumstances (if any) should sex selection be allowed? Should we ‘screen out’ as much disease and disability as possible before birth, or would that be an objectionable form of eugenics? Is it acceptable to create or select a future person (a ‘saviour sibling’) in order to provide life-saving tissue for an existing relative? Is there a moral difference between selecting to avoid disease and selecting to produce an ‘enhanced’ child? And should we allow deaf parents to use reproductive technologies to ensure that they have a deaf child? The book does not provide one overarching conclusion but rather assesses each argument-type on its merits. Insofar as it is possible to generalise though, Choosing Tomorrow's Children concludes that most of the arguments usually provided against selective reproduction are flawed in one way or another.Less
To what extent should parents be allowed to use selection technologies (such as preimplantation genetic diagnosis) to determine the characteristics of their children? And is there something morally wrong with parents who wish to do this? Choosing Tomorrow's Children provides answers to these questions. In particular, the book applies the techniques of philosophical bioethics to address issues raised by selective reproduction, the practice of choosing between different possible future persons by selecting or deselecting (for example) embryos, eggs, and sperm. It offers answers to questions including the following. Do children have a ‘right to an open future’ and, if they do, what moral constraints does this place upon selective reproduction? Under what circumstances (if any) should sex selection be allowed? Should we ‘screen out’ as much disease and disability as possible before birth, or would that be an objectionable form of eugenics? Is it acceptable to create or select a future person (a ‘saviour sibling’) in order to provide life-saving tissue for an existing relative? Is there a moral difference between selecting to avoid disease and selecting to produce an ‘enhanced’ child? And should we allow deaf parents to use reproductive technologies to ensure that they have a deaf child? The book does not provide one overarching conclusion but rather assesses each argument-type on its merits. Insofar as it is possible to generalise though, Choosing Tomorrow's Children concludes that most of the arguments usually provided against selective reproduction are flawed in one way or another.
Jonathan Glover
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199290925
- eISBN:
- 9780191710452
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199290925.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
Progress in genetic and reproductive technology now offers us the possibility of choosing what kinds of children we do and don't have. Should we welcome this power, or should we fear its ...
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Progress in genetic and reproductive technology now offers us the possibility of choosing what kinds of children we do and don't have. Should we welcome this power, or should we fear its implications? There is no ethical question more urgent than this: we may be at a turning-point in the history of humanity. This book shows us how we might try to answer this question, and examines other provoking and disturbing questions. Surely parents owe it to their children to give them the best life they can? Increasingly we are able to reduce the number of babies born with disabilities and disorders. But there is a powerful new challenge to conventional thinking about the desirability of doing so: this comes from the voices of those who have these conditions. They call into question the very definition of disability. How do we justify trying to avoid bringing people like them into being? In 2002 a deaf couple used sperm donated by a friend with hereditary deafness to have a deaf baby: they took the view that deafness is not a disability, but a difference. Starting with the issues raised by this case, this book examines the emotive idea of ‘eugenics’, and the ethics of attempting to enhance people, for non-medical reasons, by means of genetic choices. Should parents be free, not only to have children free from disabilities, but to choose, for instance, the colour of their eyes or hair? This is no longer a distant prospect, but an existing power which we cannot wish away. What impact will such interventions have, both on the individuals concerned and on society as a whole? Should we try to make general improvements to the genetic make-up of human beings? Is there a central core of human nature with which we must not interfere?Less
Progress in genetic and reproductive technology now offers us the possibility of choosing what kinds of children we do and don't have. Should we welcome this power, or should we fear its implications? There is no ethical question more urgent than this: we may be at a turning-point in the history of humanity. This book shows us how we might try to answer this question, and examines other provoking and disturbing questions. Surely parents owe it to their children to give them the best life they can? Increasingly we are able to reduce the number of babies born with disabilities and disorders. But there is a powerful new challenge to conventional thinking about the desirability of doing so: this comes from the voices of those who have these conditions. They call into question the very definition of disability. How do we justify trying to avoid bringing people like them into being? In 2002 a deaf couple used sperm donated by a friend with hereditary deafness to have a deaf baby: they took the view that deafness is not a disability, but a difference. Starting with the issues raised by this case, this book examines the emotive idea of ‘eugenics’, and the ethics of attempting to enhance people, for non-medical reasons, by means of genetic choices. Should parents be free, not only to have children free from disabilities, but to choose, for instance, the colour of their eyes or hair? This is no longer a distant prospect, but an existing power which we cannot wish away. What impact will such interventions have, both on the individuals concerned and on society as a whole? Should we try to make general improvements to the genetic make-up of human beings? Is there a central core of human nature with which we must not interfere?
A. H. Halsey
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199266609
- eISBN:
- 9780191601019
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199266603.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, UK Politics
It is becoming standard for sociologists to preface their books with a brief autobiography. This I have done, emphasizing belief in the potency of politics as the atmosphere of LSE in the 1940s. A ...
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It is becoming standard for sociologists to preface their books with a brief autobiography. This I have done, emphasizing belief in the potency of politics as the atmosphere of LSE in the 1940s. A strong tradition of empirical sociological enquiry has existed since the ‘invisible college’ of the seventeenth century. But sociology belongs to all human civilization, not only to Britain, which was arguably slow in promoting academic sociology.Five themes will be elaborated in the following chapters: (1) The consequences of Darwin; (2) the division of ownership of the subject between science and literature; (3) methods in the study of society focussing on the scientific and statistical history of the sample survey; (4) the use of sociology in social policy and its characteristic capture by the Fabians and (5) the institutionalization of academic sociology at LSE before 1950.Less
It is becoming standard for sociologists to preface their books with a brief autobiography. This I have done, emphasizing belief in the potency of politics as the atmosphere of LSE in the 1940s. A strong tradition of empirical sociological enquiry has existed since the ‘invisible college’ of the seventeenth century. But sociology belongs to all human civilization, not only to Britain, which was arguably slow in promoting academic sociology.
Five themes will be elaborated in the following chapters: (1) The consequences of Darwin; (2) the division of ownership of the subject between science and literature; (3) methods in the study of society focussing on the scientific and statistical history of the sample survey; (4) the use of sociology in social policy and its characteristic capture by the Fabians and (5) the institutionalization of academic sociology at LSE before 1950.
Philip Lutgendorf
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195309225
- eISBN:
- 9780199785391
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195309225.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
This chapter focuses on a theme implicit in much of the book: the relationship of Hanuman's simian form to the mediatory religious role he assumes and to the “messages” he so effectively delivers. It ...
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This chapter focuses on a theme implicit in much of the book: the relationship of Hanuman's simian form to the mediatory religious role he assumes and to the “messages” he so effectively delivers. It first considers the preoccupation of some modern Indian authors with the “problem” of Hanuman's monkey form, situating their interventions within colonial and post-colonial debates about history, race, and cultural and biological evolution. For comparative purposes, it surveys a wider range of human responses to anthropoid primates, including the cults of simian deities in Chinese and Japanese religions and the discourse of modern primatology. Returning to India, it considers Hanuman's role in modern Hindu nationalism and in the religious patronage of the emerging middle class. Finally, it examines evidence of Hanuman's continuing rise as a comprehensive and encompassing deity, signaled by new iconography and a proliferating theological discourse. An epilogue speculates on the potential for Hanuman's role in movements promoting ecology and environmental ethics.Less
This chapter focuses on a theme implicit in much of the book: the relationship of Hanuman's simian form to the mediatory religious role he assumes and to the “messages” he so effectively delivers. It first considers the preoccupation of some modern Indian authors with the “problem” of Hanuman's monkey form, situating their interventions within colonial and post-colonial debates about history, race, and cultural and biological evolution. For comparative purposes, it surveys a wider range of human responses to anthropoid primates, including the cults of simian deities in Chinese and Japanese religions and the discourse of modern primatology. Returning to India, it considers Hanuman's role in modern Hindu nationalism and in the religious patronage of the emerging middle class. Finally, it examines evidence of Hanuman's continuing rise as a comprehensive and encompassing deity, signaled by new iconography and a proliferating theological discourse. An epilogue speculates on the potential for Hanuman's role in movements promoting ecology and environmental ethics.
Desmond King
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198296294
- eISBN:
- 9780191599668
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198296290.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
King investigates historical examples of social policies that conflict with liberal democratic precepts by treating some individuals differently than others. His central thesis is that existing ...
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King investigates historical examples of social policies that conflict with liberal democratic precepts by treating some individuals differently than others. His central thesis is that existing accounts of American and British political development neglect how and why illiberal elements are intertwined in the creation of modern liberal democratic institutions. King argues that such elements are explicable in terms of the liberal democratic framework itself and thus illustrate paradoxical features of these polities; in his view, measures promoted ‘in the name of liberalism’ permit and, indeed, generate a surprising variety of illiberal social policies while at the same time revealing the political and intellectual breadth of liberalism and its interpretations. To argue his case, King undertakes three case studies of such social policies in the US and Britain: first, he examines eugenic policies in the 1920s and 1930s; work camps as parts of the response to unemployment in the Great Depression years; and modern workfare schemes. In King's view, each case demonstrates the range of motives for government intervention and the consequences of such motives on democracy. He concludes by arguing that illiberal features of particular social policies have serious implications for the notion of citizenship: how it is defined and who gets to define it, and what duties and obligations it entails.Less
King investigates historical examples of social policies that conflict with liberal democratic precepts by treating some individuals differently than others. His central thesis is that existing accounts of American and British political development neglect how and why illiberal elements are intertwined in the creation of modern liberal democratic institutions. King argues that such elements are explicable in terms of the liberal democratic framework itself and thus illustrate paradoxical features of these polities; in his view, measures promoted ‘in the name of liberalism’ permit and, indeed, generate a surprising variety of illiberal social policies while at the same time revealing the political and intellectual breadth of liberalism and its interpretations. To argue his case, King undertakes three case studies of such social policies in the US and Britain: first, he examines eugenic policies in the 1920s and 1930s; work camps as parts of the response to unemployment in the Great Depression years; and modern workfare schemes. In King's view, each case demonstrates the range of motives for government intervention and the consequences of such motives on democracy. He concludes by arguing that illiberal features of particular social policies have serious implications for the notion of citizenship: how it is defined and who gets to define it, and what duties and obligations it entails.
Desmond King
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198296294
- eISBN:
- 9780191599668
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198296290.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
King briefly reviews the historical and intellectual context in which the concept of eugenics developed and eventually led to the formation of the 1932 ‘Brock Committee’, which was charged with ...
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King briefly reviews the historical and intellectual context in which the concept of eugenics developed and eventually led to the formation of the 1932 ‘Brock Committee’, which was charged with making recommendations on the sterilization of the ‘feeble‐minded’ in England and Wales. Second, he analyses the motivations behind the Brock committee's appointment, the content of its deliberations, and its subsequent efforts to create sufficient momentum in favour of eugenics legislation. Third, King examines why the initiative to establish voluntary sterilization failed in Britain when it succeeded in the US. In his exploration, King determines that experts and advocates can act autonomously from societal pressure, but any decision about policy implementation is firmly a political one.Less
King briefly reviews the historical and intellectual context in which the concept of eugenics developed and eventually led to the formation of the 1932 ‘Brock Committee’, which was charged with making recommendations on the sterilization of the ‘feeble‐minded’ in England and Wales. Second, he analyses the motivations behind the Brock committee's appointment, the content of its deliberations, and its subsequent efforts to create sufficient momentum in favour of eugenics legislation. Third, King examines why the initiative to establish voluntary sterilization failed in Britain when it succeeded in the US. In his exploration, King determines that experts and advocates can act autonomously from societal pressure, but any decision about policy implementation is firmly a political one.
Desmond King
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198296294
- eISBN:
- 9780191599668
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198296290.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
King uses historical archival research to examine American immigration policy's formulation between 1900 and 1930, and illustrates how racial quotas and eugenic categories shaped restrictions on ...
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King uses historical archival research to examine American immigration policy's formulation between 1900 and 1930, and illustrates how racial quotas and eugenic categories shaped restrictions on immigration. He especially focuses on the influence of eugenic arguments upon legislation in the 1920s. Moreover, King explores the illiberal implications and effects of criteria outlining who were suitable immigrants and who were not: measures that compromised the US’ traditional commitment to the equality of treatment.Less
King uses historical archival research to examine American immigration policy's formulation between 1900 and 1930, and illustrates how racial quotas and eugenic categories shaped restrictions on immigration. He especially focuses on the influence of eugenic arguments upon legislation in the 1920s. Moreover, King explores the illiberal implications and effects of criteria outlining who were suitable immigrants and who were not: measures that compromised the US’ traditional commitment to the equality of treatment.
Desmond King
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198296294
- eISBN:
- 9780191599668
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198296290.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
King documents the establishment and operation of British Instructional Centres from 1929–38, ‘labour camps’, which also featured physical training and reconditioning classes. He argues that, unlike ...
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King documents the establishment and operation of British Instructional Centres from 1929–38, ‘labour camps’, which also featured physical training and reconditioning classes. He argues that, unlike British eugenics policies, there was little expertise cited or marshalled in the formulation of British work camps; instead, such policies rested simply on the perception amongst senior civil servants that the long‐term unemployed required physical ‘reconditioning’ to successfully enter the labour market. As a result, in King's view, such camps serve as striking examples of collectivism and the antithesis of the liberalism individualism.Less
King documents the establishment and operation of British Instructional Centres from 1929–38, ‘labour camps’, which also featured physical training and reconditioning classes. He argues that, unlike British eugenics policies, there was little expertise cited or marshalled in the formulation of British work camps; instead, such policies rested simply on the perception amongst senior civil servants that the long‐term unemployed required physical ‘reconditioning’ to successfully enter the labour market. As a result, in King's view, such camps serve as striking examples of collectivism and the antithesis of the liberalism individualism.
Anja J. Karnein
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199782475
- eISBN:
- 9780199933297
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199782475.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Philosophy of Law
In light of new biomedical technologies, such as artificial reproduction, stem cell research, genetic selection and design, the question of what we owe to future persons and unborn life more ...
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In light of new biomedical technologies, such as artificial reproduction, stem cell research, genetic selection and design, the question of what we owe to future persons and unborn life more generally, is as contested as ever. This book offers a new theory by showing how our commitments to persons can help us make sense of our obligations to unborn life. These commitments give us reasons to treat embryos that will develop into persons in anticipation of these persons. By contrast, embryos, which women want to abort or refuse to implant, can be discarded or used for research purposes. How viable is this theory? The book explores its attractiveness for Germany and the U.S.—two countries with very different approaches to valuing unborn life. However, another question raised by modern biomedical technologies concerns the legitimacy of genetically selecting and manipulating embryos. Parents might want to create persons with particular genetic properties. The book maintains that only some uses of these technologies do not violate what respect for persons, including those of the future, requires. Genetic interventions can only be legitimate if used to insure future persons’ independence. With this claim the book’s theory runs counter to liberal eugenic approaches that give parents wide-ranging entitlements to interfere with their future child’s genome, in the names of reproductive freedom, enhancing the species or social justice.Less
In light of new biomedical technologies, such as artificial reproduction, stem cell research, genetic selection and design, the question of what we owe to future persons and unborn life more generally, is as contested as ever. This book offers a new theory by showing how our commitments to persons can help us make sense of our obligations to unborn life. These commitments give us reasons to treat embryos that will develop into persons in anticipation of these persons. By contrast, embryos, which women want to abort or refuse to implant, can be discarded or used for research purposes. How viable is this theory? The book explores its attractiveness for Germany and the U.S.—two countries with very different approaches to valuing unborn life. However, another question raised by modern biomedical technologies concerns the legitimacy of genetically selecting and manipulating embryos. Parents might want to create persons with particular genetic properties. The book maintains that only some uses of these technologies do not violate what respect for persons, including those of the future, requires. Genetic interventions can only be legitimate if used to insure future persons’ independence. With this claim the book’s theory runs counter to liberal eugenic approaches that give parents wide-ranging entitlements to interfere with their future child’s genome, in the names of reproductive freedom, enhancing the species or social justice.
Joanna L. Grossman and Lawrence M. Friedman
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691149820
- eISBN:
- 9781400839773
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691149820.003.0002
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law
This chapter explores the rise and fall of marriage restrictions rooted in racism and eugenics, as well as the persistence of other, more enduring, impediments to marriage—like bigamy, incest, and ...
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This chapter explores the rise and fall of marriage restrictions rooted in racism and eugenics, as well as the persistence of other, more enduring, impediments to marriage—like bigamy, incest, and youth. Central to the story of state marriage regulation is the establishment, beginning in the 1960s, of constitutional protection for the “right” to marry, which limited, at least at the margins, the freedom of states to impose certain restrictions on marriage. But also central, in a system dominated by state law, are the rules of interstate marriage recognition, which dictate whether marriages travel across state lines. In broad brush, this chapter tells a story of increasing marital freedom, reined in only by a handful of seemingly immoveable social norms.Less
This chapter explores the rise and fall of marriage restrictions rooted in racism and eugenics, as well as the persistence of other, more enduring, impediments to marriage—like bigamy, incest, and youth. Central to the story of state marriage regulation is the establishment, beginning in the 1960s, of constitutional protection for the “right” to marry, which limited, at least at the margins, the freedom of states to impose certain restrictions on marriage. But also central, in a system dominated by state law, are the rules of interstate marriage recognition, which dictate whether marriages travel across state lines. In broad brush, this chapter tells a story of increasing marital freedom, reined in only by a handful of seemingly immoveable social norms.
Frederick Grinnell
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195064575
- eISBN:
- 9780199869442
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195064575.003.0005
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
Chapter 5 presents an overview of ethical challenges to human research, especially the paradoxical relationship between research risks (mostly to the subject) and benefits (mostly to society and ...
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Chapter 5 presents an overview of ethical challenges to human research, especially the paradoxical relationship between research risks (mostly to the subject) and benefits (mostly to society and science), and the problem of informed consent (distinguishing research from therapy). Informed consent and risk/benefit analysis are particularly complicated in genetics research, with its eugenics implications, uncertainties about disease likelihood, and controversies about who should be considered a subject and who should provide informed consent. Obtaining truly informed consent may be an unreachable ideal for human genetics research or, indeed, for any human research. Increased public participation in decision making and establishing compensation for research-related injuries would provide additional needed protections to human subjects at the beginning and the end of every human research study.Less
Chapter 5 presents an overview of ethical challenges to human research, especially the paradoxical relationship between research risks (mostly to the subject) and benefits (mostly to society and science), and the problem of informed consent (distinguishing research from therapy). Informed consent and risk/benefit analysis are particularly complicated in genetics research, with its eugenics implications, uncertainties about disease likelihood, and controversies about who should be considered a subject and who should provide informed consent. Obtaining truly informed consent may be an unreachable ideal for human genetics research or, indeed, for any human research. Increased public participation in decision making and establishing compensation for research-related injuries would provide additional needed protections to human subjects at the beginning and the end of every human research study.
Christine Rosen
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195156799
- eISBN:
- 9780199835218
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019515679X.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
By the mid-1930s, when the eugenics movement was under steady attack by geneticists, social scientists, Catholics, and conservative Protestants, it nevertheless continued to garner some religious ...
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By the mid-1930s, when the eugenics movement was under steady attack by geneticists, social scientists, Catholics, and conservative Protestants, it nevertheless continued to garner some religious support, including a large conference held in 1939 on “The Relation of Eugenics and the Church.” This chapter describes that support, as well the story of two late converts to the movement, Rev. George Reid Andrews and Rev. Kenneth MacArthur, and links their activities to the larger decline of eugenics as a viable social-scientific movement. It also outlines the attempts by Frederick Osborn to reform the American Eugenics Society.Less
By the mid-1930s, when the eugenics movement was under steady attack by geneticists, social scientists, Catholics, and conservative Protestants, it nevertheless continued to garner some religious support, including a large conference held in 1939 on “The Relation of Eugenics and the Church.” This chapter describes that support, as well the story of two late converts to the movement, Rev. George Reid Andrews and Rev. Kenneth MacArthur, and links their activities to the larger decline of eugenics as a viable social-scientific movement. It also outlines the attempts by Frederick Osborn to reform the American Eugenics Society.
Oren Izenberg
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691144832
- eISBN:
- 9781400836529
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691144832.003.0002
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory
This chapter examines the philosophical origins and political urgencies of William Butler Yeats's demand for “perfection” and “completeness.” It begins with a discussion of Yeats's conception of ...
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This chapter examines the philosophical origins and political urgencies of William Butler Yeats's demand for “perfection” and “completeness.” It begins with a discussion of Yeats's conception of extreme and paradoxical theories of poetic agency and why such an excessive account of poetic agency might have appeared necessary in his historical situation. It then considers Yeats's early and abiding commitment to the esoteric roots of symbolism and his late interest in eugenics, both of which addressed the local project of forging a counterfactual identity. It also shows how Yeats's poetry bridges the gap between the perfected Ireland he envisioned and the degraded one he conjured. The chapter concludes with an analysis of Yeats's explicit rebellion, not against his universalist notion of personhood, but against his own will to poetic mastery.Less
This chapter examines the philosophical origins and political urgencies of William Butler Yeats's demand for “perfection” and “completeness.” It begins with a discussion of Yeats's conception of extreme and paradoxical theories of poetic agency and why such an excessive account of poetic agency might have appeared necessary in his historical situation. It then considers Yeats's early and abiding commitment to the esoteric roots of symbolism and his late interest in eugenics, both of which addressed the local project of forging a counterfactual identity. It also shows how Yeats's poetry bridges the gap between the perfected Ireland he envisioned and the degraded one he conjured. The chapter concludes with an analysis of Yeats's explicit rebellion, not against his universalist notion of personhood, but against his own will to poetic mastery.
Christine Rosen
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195156799
- eISBN:
- 9780199835218
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019515679X.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Preaching Eugenics tells the story of a heretofore-unexamined group of eugenics enthusiasts in the early half of the 20th century: American religious leaders. It describes how ...
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Preaching Eugenics tells the story of a heretofore-unexamined group of eugenics enthusiasts in the early half of the 20th century: American religious leaders. It describes how Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish leaders adapted to, rejected, and, in many cases, enthusiastically embraced eugenics-a movement emblematic of modern science and progressive thought in the early 20th century. Facing new challenges from scientists and intellectuals, adapting to the dramatic social changes wrought by immigration and urbanization, and often internally riven by doctrinal controversies among modernists, liberals, and fundamentalists, leaders of churches and synagogues in the early 20th century found themselves forced to defend their faiths on numerous fronts. Preaching Eugenics describes these challenges through an exploration of religious leaders’ confrontation with eugenics. Many religious leaders embraced eugenics, often arriving at their support through their involvement with other social reform movements, including campaigns to sterilize the “feebleminded” in the states; new efforts by the state to regulate marriage; the birth control movement; efforts to combat “social evils” such as venereal disease; and the movement to restrict immigration. The book draws on a wide range of sources: the records of the American Eugenics Society; religious and scientific books and periodicals of the day; and the personal papers of religious leaders such as Rev. John Haynes Holmes, Rev. Harry Emerson Fosdick, Rev. John M. Cooper, Rev. John A. Ryan, biologist Charles Davenport and Yale geographer Ellsworth Huntington. In a period when religion and science were engaged in critical dialogue and in bitter feuds, the story of how religious leaders confronted one of the era’s newest “sciences,” eugenics, offers insight into the history of ideas and the history of religion in the early 20th century.Less
Preaching Eugenics tells the story of a heretofore-unexamined group of eugenics enthusiasts in the early half of the 20th century: American religious leaders. It describes how Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish leaders adapted to, rejected, and, in many cases, enthusiastically embraced eugenics-a movement emblematic of modern science and progressive thought in the early 20th century. Facing new challenges from scientists and intellectuals, adapting to the dramatic social changes wrought by immigration and urbanization, and often internally riven by doctrinal controversies among modernists, liberals, and fundamentalists, leaders of churches and synagogues in the early 20th century found themselves forced to defend their faiths on numerous fronts. Preaching Eugenics describes these challenges through an exploration of religious leaders’ confrontation with eugenics. Many religious leaders embraced eugenics, often arriving at their support through their involvement with other social reform movements, including campaigns to sterilize the “feebleminded” in the states; new efforts by the state to regulate marriage; the birth control movement; efforts to combat “social evils” such as venereal disease; and the movement to restrict immigration. The book draws on a wide range of sources: the records of the American Eugenics Society; religious and scientific books and periodicals of the day; and the personal papers of religious leaders such as Rev. John Haynes Holmes, Rev. Harry Emerson Fosdick, Rev. John M. Cooper, Rev. John A. Ryan, biologist Charles Davenport and Yale geographer Ellsworth Huntington. In a period when religion and science were engaged in critical dialogue and in bitter feuds, the story of how religious leaders confronted one of the era’s newest “sciences,” eugenics, offers insight into the history of ideas and the history of religion in the early 20th century.
Abdulaziz Sachedina
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195378504
- eISBN:
- 9780199869688
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195378504.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
The chapter deals with the beginning of life by probing in greater detail the ethics of sexual and asexual procreation in the light of certain reproductive technologies that transgress the boundaries ...
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The chapter deals with the beginning of life by probing in greater detail the ethics of sexual and asexual procreation in the light of certain reproductive technologies that transgress the boundaries of normal sexual reproduction. Today scientists speak about the possibility of noncoital production of human embryos through somatic-cell nuclear transfer (SCNT or the “Dolly technique”) or using the cells from in vitro human embryos that have lost their capacity to form a new individual. The advent of new reproductive technologies made possible what is impossible in nature. These new technologies also challenge respect for life and human dignity in radical ways, raising difficult ethical issues for all societies. Some of these ethical concerns form the core of this chapter and are conveyed in the questions like, “What is the moral status of the embryo?” and “What kind of respect for its life does that require from society?”Less
The chapter deals with the beginning of life by probing in greater detail the ethics of sexual and asexual procreation in the light of certain reproductive technologies that transgress the boundaries of normal sexual reproduction. Today scientists speak about the possibility of noncoital production of human embryos through somatic-cell nuclear transfer (SCNT or the “Dolly technique”) or using the cells from in vitro human embryos that have lost their capacity to form a new individual. The advent of new reproductive technologies made possible what is impossible in nature. These new technologies also challenge respect for life and human dignity in radical ways, raising difficult ethical issues for all societies. Some of these ethical concerns form the core of this chapter and are conveyed in the questions like, “What is the moral status of the embryo?” and “What kind of respect for its life does that require from society?”
Stephen Wilkinson
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199273966
- eISBN:
- 9780191706585
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199273966.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, Political Philosophy
The Eugenics Argument says that screening out disability is wrong because it is a form of eugenics. This chapter defends the view that this argument cannot overcome certain problems: notably the fact ...
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The Eugenics Argument says that screening out disability is wrong because it is a form of eugenics. This chapter defends the view that this argument cannot overcome certain problems: notably the fact that, on the most sensible definitions of ‘eugenics’, eugenics is not necessarily wrong. However, it should be noted that there are objectionable forms of eugenics (e.g. those which attempt to pass off racism or ‘genetic discrimination’ as ‘genetic improvement’). The Expressivist Argument says that what is wrong with selecting out disability is that it sends out a negative and damaging message: that the world would be a better place if people with disabilities did not exist. It is argued that screening out does not necessarily send out a morally problematic message provided that it is done for defensible reasons (such as the avoidance of suffering) and is not presented or carried out in an insensitive way.Less
The Eugenics Argument says that screening out disability is wrong because it is a form of eugenics. This chapter defends the view that this argument cannot overcome certain problems: notably the fact that, on the most sensible definitions of ‘eugenics’, eugenics is not necessarily wrong. However, it should be noted that there are objectionable forms of eugenics (e.g. those which attempt to pass off racism or ‘genetic discrimination’ as ‘genetic improvement’). The Expressivist Argument says that what is wrong with selecting out disability is that it sends out a negative and damaging message: that the world would be a better place if people with disabilities did not exist. It is argued that screening out does not necessarily send out a morally problematic message provided that it is done for defensible reasons (such as the avoidance of suffering) and is not presented or carried out in an insensitive way.
Eileen Stillwaggon
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195169270
- eISBN:
- 9780199783427
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195169271.003.0007
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Public and Welfare
This chapter examines Western preconceptions regarding African sexuality that distorted early research on the social context of AIDS in Africa and continue to limit the scope of preventive policies. ...
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This chapter examines Western preconceptions regarding African sexuality that distorted early research on the social context of AIDS in Africa and continue to limit the scope of preventive policies. It examines social science and policy works that constructed a hypersexualized pan-African culture as the main reason for the high prevalence of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, supporting their hypotheses with sweeping generalizations and innuendo based on anecdotal evidence, rather than on useful comparative data on sexual behavior. This chapter offers a critical analysis of the discourse on African “exceptionalism”, excessive reliance on anthropological or ethnographic methodology, and the historical and philosophical origins of treating Africa as a special case that derives from racial science and the eugenics movement.Less
This chapter examines Western preconceptions regarding African sexuality that distorted early research on the social context of AIDS in Africa and continue to limit the scope of preventive policies. It examines social science and policy works that constructed a hypersexualized pan-African culture as the main reason for the high prevalence of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, supporting their hypotheses with sweeping generalizations and innuendo based on anecdotal evidence, rather than on useful comparative data on sexual behavior. This chapter offers a critical analysis of the discourse on African “exceptionalism”, excessive reliance on anthropological or ethnographic methodology, and the historical and philosophical origins of treating Africa as a special case that derives from racial science and the eugenics movement.
Kiran Klaus Patel
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691149127
- eISBN:
- 9781400873623
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691149127.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
This chapter focuses on the early New Deal years and explores the Roosevelt administration's initiatives while putting them in global context. The New Deal sought to relativize the culture of ...
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This chapter focuses on the early New Deal years and explores the Roosevelt administration's initiatives while putting them in global context. The New Deal sought to relativize the culture of individualism; social control and the regulation of previously private matters were not foreign to it. Thus, eugenics were broadly compatible with New Deal ideals, and the increased New Deal funding to state agencies is a critical reason why sterilization figures went up in many states during the 1930s. However, eugenics was not a formative element of the New Deal. Roosevelt's agenda instead stood out for its focus on economic regulation. The New Deal aimed at improving individual morality and social behavior, but it did so mainly through the economic lens, whereas many other states also introduced programs directly aimed in this direction.Less
This chapter focuses on the early New Deal years and explores the Roosevelt administration's initiatives while putting them in global context. The New Deal sought to relativize the culture of individualism; social control and the regulation of previously private matters were not foreign to it. Thus, eugenics were broadly compatible with New Deal ideals, and the increased New Deal funding to state agencies is a critical reason why sterilization figures went up in many states during the 1930s. However, eugenics was not a formative element of the New Deal. Roosevelt's agenda instead stood out for its focus on economic regulation. The New Deal aimed at improving individual morality and social behavior, but it did so mainly through the economic lens, whereas many other states also introduced programs directly aimed in this direction.
Christine Rosen
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195156799
- eISBN:
- 9780199835218
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019515679X.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter traces the interaction of some of the earliest Protestant and Catholic supporters of the eugenics movement, and describes the earliest efforts to form an institutional eugenics movement. ...
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This chapter traces the interaction of some of the earliest Protestant and Catholic supporters of the eugenics movement, and describes the earliest efforts to form an institutional eugenics movement. Ministers such as Rev. Oscar Carleton McCulloch and Samuel Zane Batten, for example, married Protestant Social Gospel rhetoric with eugenic sentiment in their efforts to control the “menace of the feebleminded” through social policies. Their efforts were mirrored by those of two prominent British Protestant ministers, Rev. Frederick Brotherton Meyer and Rev. James H.F. Peile. At the same time, biologist Charles Davenport was beginning to develop eugenics institutions such as the Eugenics Record Office, trying to control a movement that had already gained a number of amateur enthusiasts who published books and tracts supporting eugenics — many of which invoked biblical justification for eugenic science. Finally, this chapter explores early debates among Catholics such as Fr. Stephen M. Donovan, Msgr. Jules DeBecker, and Father Thomas Gerrard about eugenic sterilization of the feebleminded.Less
This chapter traces the interaction of some of the earliest Protestant and Catholic supporters of the eugenics movement, and describes the earliest efforts to form an institutional eugenics movement. Ministers such as Rev. Oscar Carleton McCulloch and Samuel Zane Batten, for example, married Protestant Social Gospel rhetoric with eugenic sentiment in their efforts to control the “menace of the feebleminded” through social policies. Their efforts were mirrored by those of two prominent British Protestant ministers, Rev. Frederick Brotherton Meyer and Rev. James H.F. Peile. At the same time, biologist Charles Davenport was beginning to develop eugenics institutions such as the Eugenics Record Office, trying to control a movement that had already gained a number of amateur enthusiasts who published books and tracts supporting eugenics — many of which invoked biblical justification for eugenic science. Finally, this chapter explores early debates among Catholics such as Fr. Stephen M. Donovan, Msgr. Jules DeBecker, and Father Thomas Gerrard about eugenic sterilization of the feebleminded.
Christine Rosen
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195156799
- eISBN:
- 9780199835218
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019515679X.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter explores the creation and growth of the American Eugenics Society, whose energetic efforts to woo religious supporters met with remarkable success throughout the 1920s. The chapter ...
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This chapter explores the creation and growth of the American Eugenics Society, whose energetic efforts to woo religious supporters met with remarkable success throughout the 1920s. The chapter describes the Society’s Committee on Cooperation with Clergymen, headed by Rev. Henry Strong Huntington, which counted many prominent religious leaders as members, as well as the Society’s multiple “eugenic sermon contests,” which drew enthusiastic entrants from across the country and from a wide denominational spectrum. The chapter traces the participation of religious leaders such as Rev. Harry Emerson Fosdick, Bishop William Lawrence, Rev. Guy Emery Shipler, Rev. Phillips Endecott Osgood, Bishop Francis John McConnell, and Rabbis Louis Mann and David de Sola Pool. It also describes the successful efforts of the society’s most skilled eugenics propagandist, Albert Edward Wiggam.Less
This chapter explores the creation and growth of the American Eugenics Society, whose energetic efforts to woo religious supporters met with remarkable success throughout the 1920s. The chapter describes the Society’s Committee on Cooperation with Clergymen, headed by Rev. Henry Strong Huntington, which counted many prominent religious leaders as members, as well as the Society’s multiple “eugenic sermon contests,” which drew enthusiastic entrants from across the country and from a wide denominational spectrum. The chapter traces the participation of religious leaders such as Rev. Harry Emerson Fosdick, Bishop William Lawrence, Rev. Guy Emery Shipler, Rev. Phillips Endecott Osgood, Bishop Francis John McConnell, and Rabbis Louis Mann and David de Sola Pool. It also describes the successful efforts of the society’s most skilled eugenics propagandist, Albert Edward Wiggam.
