Francis Galton

In his book, From Darwin to Hitler: Evolutionary Ethics, Eugenics, and Racism in Germany (2004), Richard Weikart explains the revolutionary impact Darwinism had on ethics and morality. Darwinism played a key role in the rise not only of eugenics (a movement wanting to control human reproduction to improve the human species), but also on euthanasia, infanticide, abortion, and racial extermination. Read More ›

As the congressional debate over embryonic stem cell research reignites after the Easter recess, few will recall the passing anniversary of another great bioethics debate. Only one century ago, eugenics – the attempt to improve the human race through better breeding – was all the rage in the scientific world. And this spring marks the centenary of the world’s first Read More ›