Eugenics and the Scientific Community

Paper Summary:

Eugenics is the practice of improving the human race by means of selective breeding. Motivated by the rediscovery of Mendelian genetics in the early 1900s, the eugenics movement peaked in the 1920s. During this time period, many scientific papers were published, aiming to show that social disorders had genetic origins and that selective breeding could improve society as a consequence. This paper shows that while the field of eugenics had its foundations within Mendelian genetics, it suffered from subjective interpretation of data and a lack of consideration of non-genetic factors such as environmental influences. These scientific flaws within eugenics contributed to its refutation. All research is quoted from primary sources.

From the Paper:

"In addition to the inherent bias of many intelligence tests, the interpretations of such tests were subjective as well. In Davenport's Jamaican study, he finds that the Black population scores higher on arithmetic, and Whites score higher in grammar. He claims that Blacks score lower on grammar tests because "Blacks seemed inferior to the Whites in ability to criticize absurd sentences and make practical judgment." What then, accounts for the ability of the Black group to perform in arithmetic?"

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