It is one of the newest of sciences. It was practically forced into
existence by logical necessity. It is certainly here to stay, and it
demands the right to speak, in many cases to cast the deciding vote, on
some of the most important questions that confront society.
The science of eugenics is the natural result of the spread and
acceptance of organic evolution, following the publication of Darwin's
work on _The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection_, in 1859.
It took a generation for his ideas to win the day; but then they
revolutionized the intellectual life of the civilized world. Man came to
realize that the course of nature is regular; that the observed
sequences of events can be described in formulas which are called
natural laws; he learned that he could achieve great results in plant
and animal breeding by working in harmony with these laws. Then the
question logically arose, "Is not man himself subject to these same
laws? Can he not use his knowledge of them to improve his own species,
as he has been more or less consciously improving the plants and animals
that were of most value to him, for many centuries?"
The evolutionist answered both these questions affirmatively. However
great may be the superiority of his mind, man is first of all an animal,
subject to the natural laws that govern other animals.
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