Hitler took the disgusting idea of eugenically removing weaker genes from the human genepool to abhorrent extreme, but eugenic practises had been all too common across the civilised world pre World War Two. But it was the extreme actions Hitler took that forged in the popular psyche the understanding that eugenics is a wholly disgraceful undertaking.
Not to mention the fact that even gifted individuals can be produced by ordinary parentage: explain that one racists . . ?
The problem is genetics isn't the only factor when talking about phenotypic gene expression. How genes interact with
the environment through the medium of body (bacteria acquisition at different ages has been
remarked as a system that can sculpt the mind) and express in the
individual is not all down to the genes themselves. Many
factors are involved; different things interact with the body's and mind's functions, genes can switch on and off to different and at present unknown cues. Removing genetic lines from the human genepool is something that shouldn't
be done, or should only be done with extreme caution (as in disease causing genes). All genetic
material must be backed up and stored. Even identical twins can have
different sexual preferences and IQs.
The future for me will be more about genetic design, and less about
eugenics (implementing new material rather than specifically removing
old (unless directly causing a crippling disease. But we must even be wary of that
because maybe it is human's weakness that makes us more advanced, or at
least weakness is so spliced into us as to be hard to remove without gaining possibly unforeseen or unwanted results) would we start to lose our most intelligent people if we started to remove genetic weakness? Maybe
treatments of disease/aging whilst maintaining genetic makeups is an
equally persuasive option? I am sure there will be more than one camp.
That is the beauty of diversity). A process of designed improvement.
This in itself will create mistakes. But it will kickstart a much faster
period of human evolution with the (intentional) mutations it will
employ.
Question is which countries will allow genetic engineering to happen freely? Those countries will have the upper hand genetically (will they disgust the world as much, and be shunned as vehemently as the nazis? Surely creating innocent lives by design is as divisive a subject as holocaustic eugenics?)
Well that's my general take.
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