Eugenics

Culture-of-Death-Wesley-Smith

Culture of Death

Bioethicist Wesley J. Smith takes aim at the arguments permeating our culture that devalue human life. Smith makes readers aware of the historic roots of the modern euthanasia movement, which today repeats arguments made by Nazis and proponents of eugenics tied back to 19th century social Darwinism. Smith, a Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute, is extremely sensitive to the Read More ›

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The Biology of the Second Reich

This award-winning 14-minute documentary tells the little-known story of the influence of Social Darwinism on German militarism leading up to World War 1, including an exploration of the German military’s genocidal policies in Southwest Africa (modern Namibia). The video features the work of California State University historian Richard Weikart, author of the book From Darwin to Hitler: Evolutionary Ethics, Eugenics, Read More ›

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The Magician’s Twin

In this wide-ranging book of essays edited by John G. West, contemporary writers probe Lewis’s warnings about the dehumanizing impact of scientism on ethics, politics, faith, reason, and science itself. Issues explored include Lewis’s views on bioethics, eugenics, evolution, intelligent design, and what he called “scientocracy.” Read More ›
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That Unrepentant Bigotry

“Stop the hate!” we are often told. To be sure, that is a worthy goal. Indeed, in recent decades great strides have been made throughout society in accepting most of us, as indeed, truly and clearly, “us.” For example, the worst forms of racist speech are now far beyond the pale—to the extent that the despicable N-word can no longer Read More ›

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The Dark Side of Darwinism

Between 1934 and 1939, in the interests of evolutionary hygiene, the eugenic program in Nazi Germany forcibly sterilized about 400,000 people. The victims were men and women suffering from hereditary and mental illnesses along with the deaf, the blind, alcoholics and others judged unfit to reproduce. At the time, another government was also busy sterilizing citizens it deemed racially unhygienic. Measured for eugenic enthusiasm, this other state entity ran second to Germany worldwide. And what state was that? Read More ›
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What Hath Darwin Wrought Trailer

“What Hath Darwin Wrought?” is a TV special that investigates the shocking history of “social Darwinism” in America and Europe, including the eugenics crusade against the “unfit,” the euthanasia movement, Nazi genocide, and current efforts to devalue the lives of the handicapped. Hosted by Todd Friel, the program features Discovery Institute Senior Fellows David Berlinski, author of The Devil’s Delusion and The Deniable Darwin; John West, author of Darwin Read More ›

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Was Darwin a Social Darwinist?

Like many supporters of Darwin’s theory, political theorist Larry Arnhart attempts to disassociate Charles Darwin and his scientific theory from the utopian crusades of “Social Darwinism” such as eugenics. In Darwinian Conservatism, Arnhart claims that Darwin is unfairly blamed for eugenics and that “much of what has been identified as social Darwinism… is a distortion of Darwinian science” (p. 112). Read More ›

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Darwin’s Theory and Social Darwinism: There Is A Connection

Scientists and political activists during the past century have drawn on Darwinian theory to promote one utopian crusade after another, including forced sterilization, scientific racism, euthanasia, and an ever-expanding government justified in the name of the “evolving Constitution.” The typical response of Darwinists to this record of coercive “Social Darwinism” is to deny that it has any genuine connection to Read More ›

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evolution of humans from primates
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There Is No ‘Politically Correct’ Science

It’s impossible to isolate Darwinian theories from their societal consequences. Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection has been one of the most politically and culturally consequential ideas of the past 200 years. Yet many defenders of evolution do their best to downplay the connections between Charles Darwin and what might be called social Darwinism. Darwin, they insist, focused simply Read More ›

The Darwinian Basis for Eugenics

This article, published by New Oxford Review, contains an review of Discovery Institute Senior Fellow John G. West’s book Darwin Day in America: John G. West, senior fellow at the Discovery Institute, reveals here to what extent scientific materialism has become the foundation for much of American politics and culture, and how dangerous this is for democracy. The rest of the Read More ›