It has social significance, in bolstering family pride and
creating a feeling of family solidarity--this is perhaps its chief
office in the United States. It has, or can have, biological
significance, and this in two ways: either in relation to pure science
or applied science. In connection with pure science, its function is to
furnish means for getting knowledge of the laws of heredity. In
application, its function is to furnish a knowledge of the inherited
characters of any given individual, in order to make it possible for the
individual to find his place in the world and, in particular, to marry
wisely. It is obvious that the use of genealogy in the applied science
of eugenics is dependent on previous research by geneticists; for
marriage matings which take account of heredity can not be made unless
the mode of inheritance of human traits has previously been discovered.
The historical, social, legal and other aspects of genealogy do not
concern the present discussion. We shall discuss only the biological
aspect; not only because it alone is germane to the present book, but
because we consider it to have by far the greatest true value, accepting
the criterion of value as that which increases the welfare of mankind.
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