Inquiries into human faculty and its developmentGalton, Francis
Science
Inquiries into human faculty and its development
Galton, Francis
Ability; Eugenics
When we begin to inquire, with some misgiving perhaps, as to the
evidence that man has present power to influence the quality of
future humanity, we soon discover that his past influence in that
direction has been very large indeed. It has been exerted hitherto
for other ends than that which is now contemplated, such as for
conquest or emigration, also through social conditions whose effects
upon race were imperfectly foreseen. There can be no doubt that the
hitherto unused means of his influence are also numerous and great.
I have not cared to go much into detail concerning these, but
restricted myself to a few broad considerations, as by showing how
largely the balance of population becomes affected by the earlier
marriages of some of its classes, and by pointing out the great
influence that endowments have had in checking the marriage of monks
and scholars, and therefore the yet larger influence they might be
expected to have if they were directed not to thwart but to
harmonise with natural inclination, by promoting early marriages in
the classes to be favoured. I also showed that a powerful influence
might flow from a public recognition in early life of the true value
of the probability of future performance, as based on the past
performance of the ancestors of the child. It is an element of
forecast, in addition to that of present personal merit, which has
yet to be appraised and recognised. Its recognition would attract
assistance in various ways, impossible now to specify, to the young
families of those who were most likely to stock the world with
healthy, moral, intelligent, and fair-natured citizens. The stream
of charity is not unlimited, and it is requisite for the speedier
evolution of a more perfect humanity that it should be so
distributed as to favour the best-adapted races. I have not spoken
of the repression of the rest, believing that it would ensue
indirectly as a matter of course; but I may add that few would
deserve better of their country than those who determine to live
celibate lives, through a reasonable conviction that their issue
would probably be less fitted than the generality to play their part
as citizens.
It would be easy to add to the number of possible agencies by which
the evolution of a higher humanity might be furthered, but it is
premature to do so until the importance of attending to the
improvement of our race shall have been so well established in the
popular mind that a discussion of them would be likely to receive
serious consideration.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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