II. STUDIES IN NATIONAL EUGENICS
It was stated in the
Times, January 26, 1905, that at a meeting of the Senate of the University of London, Mr. Edgar Schuster, M.A., of New College, Oxford, was appointed to the Francis Galton Research Fellowship in National
Eugenics.
"Mr. Schuster will in particular carry out investigations into the history of classes and families, and deliver lectures and publish memoirs on the subjects of his investigations."
Now that this appointment has been made, it seems well to publish a suitable list of subjects for eugenic inquiry. It will be a program that binds no one, not even myself; for I have not yet had the advantage of discussing it with others, and may hereafter wish largely to revise and improve what is now provisionally sketched. The use of this paper lies in
its giving a general outline of what, according to my present view, requires careful investigation, of course not all at once, but step by step, at possibly long intervals.
I
. Estimation of the average quality of the offspring of married couples, from their personal and ancestral data.--This includes questions of fertility, and the determination of the
"probable error" of the estimate for individuals, according to the data employed.
a) "BiographicalIndex to Gifted Families," modern and recent, for publication. It might be drawn up on the same principle as my "Index to Achievements of Near Kinsfolk of Some of the Fellows of the Royal Society."[See Sociological Papers, Vol. I, p. 85.] The Index refers only to facts creditable to the family, and to such of these as have already appeared in publications, which are quoted as authority for the statements. Other biographical facts that may be collected concerning these families are to be preserved for statistical use only.
b) Biographies of capable families, that do not rank as
"gifted," are to be collected, and kept in manuscript, for statistical use, but with option of publication.
c) Biographies of families, which, as a whole, are distinctly below the average in health, mind, or physique, are to be collected. These include the families of persons in asylums of all kinds, hospitals, and prisons. To be kept for statistical use only.
d) Parentage and progeny of representatives of each of the social classes of the community, to determine how far each class is derived from, and contributes to,
its own and the other classes. This inquiry must be carefully planned beforehand.
e) Insurance-office data. An attempt to be made to carry out the suggestions of Mr. Palin Egerton,[
8 Ibid., p. 62] of obtaining material that the authorities would not object to give, and whose discussion might be advantageous to themselves as well as to
eugenics. The matter is now under consideration, so more cannot be said.
II.
Effects of action by the state and by public institutions.
f) Habitual criminals. Public opinion is beginning to regard with favor the project of a prolonged segregation of habitual criminals, for the purpose of restricting their opportunities for (1) continuing their depredations, and (2) producing low-class offspring. The inquiries spoken of above (see c) will measure the importance of the latter object.
g) Feeble-minded. Aid given to institutions for the feeble-minded are open to the suspicions that they may eventually promote their marriage and the production of offspring like themselves. Inquiries are needed to test the truth of this suspicion.
h) Grants toward higher education. Money spent in the higher education of those who are intellectually unable to profit by it lessens the sum available for those who can do so. It might be expected that aid systematically given on a large scale to the more capable would have considerable eugenic
effect, but the subject is complex and needs investigation.
i) Indiscriminate charity, including outdoor relief. There is good reason to believe that the effects of indiscriminate charity are notably non-eugenic. This topic affords a wide field for inquiry.
III.
Other influences that further or restrain particular classes of marriage.-- Theinstances are numerous in recent times in which social influences have restrained or furthered freedom of marriage. A judicious selection of these would be useful, and might be undertaken as time admits. I have myself just communicated to the Sociological Society a memoir entitled
"Restrictions in Marriage," in which remarkable instances are given of the dominant power of religion, law, and custom. This will suggest the sort of work now in view, where less powerful influences have produced statistical effects of appreciable amount.
IV.
Heredity.-- The facts, after being collected, are to be discussed, for improving our knowledge of the laws both of actuarial and of physiological heredity, the recent methods of advanced statistics being of course used. It is possible that a study of the
effect on the offspring of differences in the parental qualities may prove important.
It is to be considered whether a study of Eurasians -- that is, of the descendants of Hindoo and English parents--might not be advocated in proper quarters, both on
its own merits as a topic of national importance and as a test of the applicability of the Mendelian hypotheses to men. Eurasians have by this time intermarried during three consecutive generations in sufficient numbers to yield trustworthy results.
V. Literature.--Avast amount of material that bears on
eugenics exists in print, much of which is valuable and should be hunted out and catalogued. Many scientific societies, medical, actuarial, and others, publish such material from time to time. The experiences of breeders of stock of all kinds, and those of horticulturists, fall within this category.
VI.
Co-operation.-- Aftergood work shall have been done and become widely recognized, the influence of eugenic students in stimulating others to contribute to their inquiries may become powerful. It is too soon to, speculate on this, but every good opportunity should be seized to further co-operation, as well as the knowledge and application of
eugenics.
VII.
Certificates.--Insome future time, dependent on circumstances, I look forward to a suitable authority issuing eugenic certificates to candidates for them. They would imply more than an average share of the several qualities of at least goodness of constitution, of physique, and of mental capacity. Examinations upon which such certificates might be granted are already carried on, but separately; some by the medical advisers of insurance offices; some by medical men as to physical fitness for the army, navy, and Indian services; and others in the ordinary scholastic examinations. Supposing constitution, physique, and intellect to be three independent variables (which they are not), the men who rank among the upper third of each group would form only one twenty-seventh part of the population. Even allowing largely for the correlation of those qualities, it follows that a moderate severity of selection in each of a few particulars would lead to a severe all-round selection. It is not necessary to pursue this further.
The above brief memorandum does not profess to deal with more than the pressing problems in
eugenics. As that science becomes better known, and the bases on which it rests are more soundly established, new problems will arise, especially such as relate to
its practical application. All this must bide
its time; there is no good reason to anticipate it now. Of course, useful suggestions in the present embryonic condition of eugenic study would be timely, and might prove very helpful to students.
III. EUGENICS AS A FACTOR IN RELIGION
[This section was communicated to the Sociological Society in supplement to three papers, viz.: "
Eugenics:
Its Definition, Scope, and Aims"
(vide American Journal of Sociology, Vol. X, pp. 1-25), and the first two sections of this article.]
Eugenics strengthens the sense of social duty in so many important particulars that the conclusions derived from
its study ought to find a welcome home in every tolerant religion. It promotes a far-sighted philanthropy, the acceptance of parentage as a serious responsibility, and a higher conception of patriotism. The creed of
eugenics is founded upon the idea of evolution; not on a passive form of it, but on one that can to some extent direct
its own course. Purely passive, or what may be styled mechanical, evolution displays the awe-inspiring spectacle of a vast eddy of organic turmoil, originating we know not how, and traveling we know not whither. It forms a continuous whole from first to last, reaching backward beyond our earliest knowledge, and stretching forward as far as we think we can foresee. But it is molded by blind and wasteful processes, namely by an extravagant production of raw material and the ruthless rejection of all that is superfluous, through the blundering steps of trial and error. The condition at each successive moment of this huge system, as it issues from the already quiet past and is about to invade the still undisturbed future, is one of violent internal commotion.
Its elements are in constant flux and change, though
its general form alters but slowly. In this respect it resembles the curious stream of cloud that sometimes seems attached to a mountain top during the continuance of a strong breeze;
its constituents are always changing, though
its shape as a whole hardly varies. Evolution is in any case a grand phantasmagoria, but it assumes an infinitely more interesting aspect under the knowledge that the intelligent action of the human will is in some small measure capable of guiding
its course. Man could do this largely so far as the evolution of humanity is concerned, and he has already affected the quality and distribution of organic life so widely that the changes on the surface of the earth, merely through his disforestings and agriculture, would be recognizable from a distance as great as that of the moon.
As regards the practical side of
eugenics, we need not linger to reopen the unending argument whether man possesses any creative power of will at all, or whether his will is not also predetermined by blind forces or by intelligent agencies behind the veil, and whether the belief that man can act independently is more than a mere illusion. This matters little in practice, because men, whether fatalists or not, work with equal vigor whenever they perceive they have the power to act effectively.
Eugenic belief extends the function of philanthropy to future generations; it renders
its action more pervading than hitherto, by dealing with families and societies in their entirety; and it enforces the importance of the marriage covenant by directing serious attention to the probable quality of the future offspring. It sternly forbids all forms of sentimental charity that are harmful to the race, while it eagerly seeks opportunity for acts of personal kindness as some equivalent to the loss of what it for bids. It brings the tie of kinship into prominence, and strongly encourages love and interest in family and race. In brief,
eugenics is a virile creed, full of hopefulness, and appealing to many of the noblest feelings of our nature?
studies-eugenics
