The Kallikak Family: A Study in the Heredity of Feeble-MindednessGoddard, Henry Herbert
Science
The Kallikak Family: A Study in the Heredity of Feeble-Mindedness
Goddard, Henry Herbert
Heredity, Human; Mental retardation; People with mental disabilities
We thus have a natural experiment of remarkable value to the sociologist
and the student of heredity. That we are dealing with a problem of true
heredity, no one can doubt, for, although of the descendants of Martin
Kallikak Jr. many married into feeble-minded families and thus brought in
more bad blood, yet Martin Jr. himself married a normal woman, thus
demonstrating that the defect is transmitted through the father, at least
in this generation. Moreover, the Kallikak family traits appear
continually even down to the present generation, and there are many
qualities that are alike in both the good and the bad families, thus
showing the strength and persistence of the ancestral stock.
The reader will recall the famous story of the Jukes family published by
Richard L. Dugdale in 1877, a startling array of criminals, paupers, and
diseased persons, more or less related to each other and extending over
seven generations.
Dr. Winship has undertaken to compare this family with the descendants of
Jonathan Edwards, and from this comparison to draw certain conclusions.
It is a striking comparison, but unfortunately not as conclusive as we
need in these days. The two families were utterly independent, of
different ancestral stock, reared in different communities, even in
different States, and under utterly different environment.
The one, starting from a strong, religious, and highly educated ancestor,
has maintained those traits and traditions down to the present day and
with remarkable results; the other, starting without any of these
advantages, and under an entirely different environment, has resulted in
the opposite kind of descendants.
It is not possible to convince the euthenist (who holds that environment
is the sole factor) that, had the children of Jonathan Edwards and the
children of “Old Max” changed places, the results would not have been such
as to show that it was a question of environment and not of heredity. And
he cites to us the fact that many children of highly developed parents
degenerate and become paupers and criminals, while on the other hand, some
children born of lowly and even criminal parents take the opposite course
and become respectable and useful citizens.
In as far as the children of “Old Max” were of normal mentality, it is not
possible to say what might not have become of them, had they had good
training and environment.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account