How did Galton support his argument that eugenics should be practiced?
Sir Francis Galton was born near Birmingham, England. He studied at King’s College in London and then in Cambridge University. Galton was passionate in measuring everything he felt like. While in the expedition to Africa, he made a map of the regions he visited. Later in his life, he tried to measure and predict the weather. He was delighted when his cousin, Charles Darwin published his evolution concept because it emphasized on individual differences.
Galton coined the term Eugenics. It means selective breeding in human beings, that is, humans try to improve their genetic build by mating with people having desirable traits (positive eugenics). Galton believed that the improvement of the genetic build of human beings could be attained by selective breeding and he advocated the practice.
Galton supported his argument that Eugenics should be practiced by emphasizing on the fact that selective breeding can improve the genes of an organism. That is, if a healthy person mates with another one, the offspring will have good health. So, if the general masses practice Eugenics, the genetic makeup of a society can improve as a whole. Likewise, he believed that human intelligence is inherited and thought whether the intelligence of the public could be increased by the practice of Eugenics.
Galton encouraged the mating of bright people and discouraged the mating of ‘less bright’ people. He went on to measure the intelligence of the offspring of people with high intellectual ability, statesman, commanders, poets, judges, painters, musicians, literary men, among others. He published the results in “Its Laws and Consequences” (1869). The results showed that the children of intelligent and eminent men were more likely to be full of merit than the children of non-intelligent and non-eminent people.