Dysgenics: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| (3 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
'''Dysgenics''' | '''Dysgenics''' is the decrease of good traits and increase of bad traits due to evolutionary pressure. | ||
The adjective "dysgenic" is the antonym of "[[eugenic]]". In 1915 the term was used by [[David Starr Jordan]] to describe the | The adjective "dysgenic" is the antonym of "[[eugenic]]". In 1915 the term was used by [[David Starr Jordan]] to describe the deleterious effects of modern warfare on group-level genetic fitness because of its tendency to kill physically healthy men while preserving the disabled at home.<ref name="Jordan">Jordan, David Starr (2003). War and the Breed: The Relation of War to the Downfall of Nations (Reprint ed.). Honolulu: University Press of the Pacific. <nowiki>ISBN 978-1-4102-0900-9</nowiki>.</ref><ref name=":1">Carlson, Elof Axel (2001). The Unfit: A History of a Bad Idea. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. pp. 189–193. <nowiki>ISBN 9780879695873</nowiki>.</ref> Similar concerns had been raised by early eugenicists and [[Social Darwinism|social Darwinists]] during the 19th century, and continued to play a role in scientific and public policy debates throughout the 20th century.<ref>Carlson, Elof Axel (2001). The Unfit: A History of a Bad Idea. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. <nowiki>ISBN 9780879695873</nowiki>.</ref> More recent concerns about supposed dysgenic effects in human populations have been advanced by the psychologist [[Richard Lynn]], notably in his 1996 book ''[[Dysgenics: Genetic Deterioration in Modern Populations]]'', which argued that a reduction in [[Evolutionary pressure|selection pressures]] and decreased [[infant mortality]] since the [[Industrial Revolution]] have resulted in an increased propagation of deleterious traits and [[genetic disorder]]s.<ref name=":2">Fischbach, Karl-Friedrich; Niggeschmidt, Martin (2022). "Do the Dumb Get Dumber and the Smart Get Smarter?". Heritability of Intelligence. Springer. pp. 37–39. doi:10.1007/978-3-658-35321-6_9. <nowiki>ISBN 978-3-658-35321-6</nowiki>. S2CID 244640696. Since the nineteenth century, a 'race deterioration' has been repeatedly predicted as a result of the excessive multiplication of less gifted people (Galton 1869; see also Fig. 9.1). Nevertheless, the educational and qualification level of people in the industrialized countries has risen strongly. The fact that the 'test intelligence' has also significantly increased (Flynn 2013), is difficult to explain for supporters of the dysgenic thesis: they suspect that the 'phenotypic intelligence' has increased for environmental reasons, while the 'genotypic quality' secretly decreases (Lynn 1996, p. 111). There is neither evidence nor proof for this theory.</ref><ref name="Dysgenics 1996">Richard Lynn: Dysgenics: genetic deterioration in modern populations Westport, Connecticut. : Praeger, 1996., <nowiki>ISBN 978-0-275-94917-4</nowiki>.</ref> | ||
While leftism, which is caused by dysgenics, caused people to deny this, the fact is that the genetic situation is worse than it has ever been. In the 19th century, mental disorders like PTSD were unheard of; incidence of mental disorders like PTSD increased linearly in incidence for over 100 years.<ref>https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.9783/9780812291469-003/pdf?licenseType=restricted</ref> | |||
== Leftism and Dysgenics == | |||
There is evidence that leftism has increased due to dysgenics. For example, it has been found that there is a paternal age correlation with leftism.<ref>Bronski, J. (2023). Evidence for a Paternal Age Effect on Leftism.</ref> This means that leftism increases due to mutational load. No other causes of leftism have been found. | |||
== In fiction == | == In fiction == | ||
[[Cyril M. Kornbluth]]'s 1951 short story "[[The Marching Morons]]" is an example of dysgenic fiction, describing a man who accidentally ends up in the distant future and discovers that dysgenics has resulted in mass stupidity. [[Mike Judge]]'s 2006 film ''[[Idiocracy]]'' has the same premise, with the main character the subject of a military [[hibernation]] experiment that goes awry, taking him 500 years into the future. While in "The Marching Morons", civilization is kept afloat by a small group of dedicated geniuses, in ''Idiocracy'', [[voluntary childlessness]] among high-IQ couples leaves only [[expert system|automated systems]] to fill that role.<ref name=":0"> | [[Cyril M. Kornbluth]]'s 1951 short story "[[The Marching Morons]]" is an example of dysgenic fiction, describing a man who accidentally ends up in the distant future and discovers that dysgenics has resulted in mass stupidity. [[Mike Judge]]'s 2006 film ''[[Idiocracy]]'' has the same premise, with the main character the subject of a military [[hibernation]] experiment that goes awry, taking him 500 years into the future. While in "The Marching Morons", civilization is kept afloat by a small group of dedicated geniuses, in ''Idiocracy'', [[voluntary childlessness]] among high-IQ couples leaves only [[expert system|automated systems]] to fill that role.<ref name=":0">Mitchell, Dan (2006-09-09). "Shying away from Degeneracy". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-06-29.</ref> | ||
[[Category:Eugenics]] | [[Category:Eugenics]] | ||
[[Category:Evolutionary biology]] | [[Category:Evolutionary biology]] | ||
[[Category:Futures studies]] | [[Category:Futures studies]] | ||
<references /> | |||
Latest revision as of 06:49, 18 March 2024
Dysgenics is the decrease of good traits and increase of bad traits due to evolutionary pressure.
The adjective "dysgenic" is the antonym of "eugenic". In 1915 the term was used by David Starr Jordan to describe the deleterious effects of modern warfare on group-level genetic fitness because of its tendency to kill physically healthy men while preserving the disabled at home.[1][2] Similar concerns had been raised by early eugenicists and social Darwinists during the 19th century, and continued to play a role in scientific and public policy debates throughout the 20th century.[3] More recent concerns about supposed dysgenic effects in human populations have been advanced by the psychologist Richard Lynn, notably in his 1996 book Dysgenics: Genetic Deterioration in Modern Populations, which argued that a reduction in selection pressures and decreased infant mortality since the Industrial Revolution have resulted in an increased propagation of deleterious traits and genetic disorders.[4][5]
While leftism, which is caused by dysgenics, caused people to deny this, the fact is that the genetic situation is worse than it has ever been. In the 19th century, mental disorders like PTSD were unheard of; incidence of mental disorders like PTSD increased linearly in incidence for over 100 years.[6]
Leftism and Dysgenics
There is evidence that leftism has increased due to dysgenics. For example, it has been found that there is a paternal age correlation with leftism.[7] This means that leftism increases due to mutational load. No other causes of leftism have been found.
In fiction
Cyril M. Kornbluth's 1951 short story "The Marching Morons" is an example of dysgenic fiction, describing a man who accidentally ends up in the distant future and discovers that dysgenics has resulted in mass stupidity. Mike Judge's 2006 film Idiocracy has the same premise, with the main character the subject of a military hibernation experiment that goes awry, taking him 500 years into the future. While in "The Marching Morons", civilization is kept afloat by a small group of dedicated geniuses, in Idiocracy, voluntary childlessness among high-IQ couples leaves only automated systems to fill that role.[8]
- ↑ Jordan, David Starr (2003). War and the Breed: The Relation of War to the Downfall of Nations (Reprint ed.). Honolulu: University Press of the Pacific. ISBN 978-1-4102-0900-9.
- ↑ Carlson, Elof Axel (2001). The Unfit: A History of a Bad Idea. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. pp. 189–193. ISBN 9780879695873.
- ↑ Carlson, Elof Axel (2001). The Unfit: A History of a Bad Idea. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. ISBN 9780879695873.
- ↑ Fischbach, Karl-Friedrich; Niggeschmidt, Martin (2022). "Do the Dumb Get Dumber and the Smart Get Smarter?". Heritability of Intelligence. Springer. pp. 37–39. doi:10.1007/978-3-658-35321-6_9. ISBN 978-3-658-35321-6. S2CID 244640696. Since the nineteenth century, a 'race deterioration' has been repeatedly predicted as a result of the excessive multiplication of less gifted people (Galton 1869; see also Fig. 9.1). Nevertheless, the educational and qualification level of people in the industrialized countries has risen strongly. The fact that the 'test intelligence' has also significantly increased (Flynn 2013), is difficult to explain for supporters of the dysgenic thesis: they suspect that the 'phenotypic intelligence' has increased for environmental reasons, while the 'genotypic quality' secretly decreases (Lynn 1996, p. 111). There is neither evidence nor proof for this theory.
- ↑ Richard Lynn: Dysgenics: genetic deterioration in modern populations Westport, Connecticut. : Praeger, 1996., ISBN 978-0-275-94917-4.
- ↑ https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.9783/9780812291469-003/pdf?licenseType=restricted
- ↑ Bronski, J. (2023). Evidence for a Paternal Age Effect on Leftism.
- ↑ Mitchell, Dan (2006-09-09). "Shying away from Degeneracy". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-06-29.