Sam Vaknin
"It is clear that modern medicine has created a grave dilemma ... In the past, there were many children who never survived - they succumbed to various diseases ... But in a sense new medicine has put natural selection down of commission. Something that has helped one individual finished a serious illness can in the long run contribute to weakening the resistance of the whole human race to certain diseases. If we pay absolutely no attention to what is called hereditary hygiene, we could find ourselves facing a degeneration of the human race. Mankind's hereditary potential for resisting serious disease will be weakened."
Jostein Gaarder in "Sophie's World", a bestselling philosophy standard for adolescents publicized in Oslo, Norway, in 1991 and, afterwards, throughout the world, having been translated to dozens of languages.
The Nazis regarded the murder of the feeble-minded and the mentally insane - intended to purify the race and maintain hereditary hygiene - as a form of euthanasia. German doctors were enthusiastic proponents of an eugenics movements rooted in ordinal century social Darwinism. Luke Gormally writes, in his essay "Walton, Davies, and Boyd" (published in "Euthanasia Examined - Ethical, Clinical, and Legal Perspectives", ed. John Keown, Cambridge University Press, 1995):
"When the jurist Karl Binding and the psychiatrist Alfred Hoche published their tract The Permission to Destroy Life that is Not Worth Living in 1920 ... their motive was to rid society of the 'human ballast and enormous worldly burden' of care for the mentally ill, the handicapped, retarded and unshapely children, and the incurably ill. But the reason they invoked to justify the killing of human beings who fell into these categories was that the lives of such human beings were 'not worthy living', were 'devoid of value'"
It is this association with the offensive Nazi regime that gave eugenics - a term coined by a relational of Charles Darwin, Sir Francis Galton, in 1883 - its bad name. Richard Lynn, of the University of Ulster of northwesterly Ireland, thinks that this recoil resulted in "Dysgenics - the genetic deterioration of modern (human) population", as the title of his controversial tome puts it.
The crux of the argument for eugenics is that a host of technological, cultural, and social developments conspired to give rise to unfavourable selection of the weakest, least intelligent, sickest, the habitually criminal, the sexually deviant, the mentally-ill, and the least adapted.
Contraception is more widely old by the rich and the educated than by the destitute and dull. Birth control as practiced in places like China crooked both the sex distribution in the cities - and increased the weight of the country-style population (rural couples in China are allowed to have two children rather than the cityfied one).
Modern medicine and the welfare state collaborate in sustaining alive individuals - mainly the mentally retarded, the mentally ill, the sick, and the genetically defective - who would other have been culled by natural selection to the betterment of the whole species.
Eugenics may be based on a literal perceptive of Darwin's metaphor.
The 2002 edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica has this to say:
"Darwin's description of the process of earthy selection as the survival of the fittest in the struggle for life is a metaphor. 'Struggle' does not necessarily mean contention, strife, or combat; 'survival' does not mean that ravages of death are needed to make the selection effective; and 'fittest' is virtually never a single optimal genotype but rather an array of genotypes that collectively enhance population survival rather than extinction. complete these considerations are most apposite to consideration of earthy selection in humans. Decreasing infant and childhood mortality rates do not necessarily mean that earthy selection in the human species no longer operates. Theoretically, natural selection could be very hard-hitting if all the children born reached maturity. Two conditions are needed to make this speculative possibility realized: first, variation in the number of children per family and, second, variation related with the heritable properties of the parents. Neither of these conditions is farfetched."
The eugenics debate is single the visible extremity of the Man vs. Nature conundrum. Have we truly conquered nature and extracted ourselves from its determinism? Have we graduated from natural to social evolution, from earthy to artificial selection, and from genes to memes?
Does the evolutionary process culminate in a being that transcends its genetic baggage, that programs and charts its future, and that allows its weakest and sickest to survive? Supplanting the pressing of the survival of the fittest with a culturally-sensitive principle may be the hallmark of a successful evolution, rather than the beginning of an inexorable decline.
The eugenics movement turns this argument on its head. They accept the premise that the contribution of natural selection to the makeup of future hominian generations is cold and negligible. But they reject the conclusion that, having ridden ourselves of its tyranny, we can now let the weak and sick among us survive and multiply. Rather, they propose to replace earthy selection with eugenics.
But who, by which authority, and according to what guidelines will administer this man-made culling and decide who is to liveborn and who is to die, who is to breed and who may not? Why superior by intelligence and not by courtesy or altruism or church-going - or al of them together? It is here that eugenics fails miserably. Should the criterion be physical, like in ancient Sparta? Should it be mental? Should IQ determine one's fate - or social status or wealth? diametric answers yield different eugenic programs and target dissimilar groups in the population.
Aren't eugenic criteria liable to be unduly influenced by fashion and social bias? Can we agree on a universal eugenic agenda in a international as ethnically and culturally diverse as ours? If we do get it wrong - and the chances are overwhelming - will we not damage our gene pool irreparably and, with it, the prospective of our species?
And even if many will avoid a slippery slope leading from eugenics to active extermination of "inferior" groups in the overall population - can we guarantee that everyone will? How to prevent eugenics from being taken by an intrusive, authoritarian, or equal murderous state?
Modern eugenicists distance themselves from the unanalyzed methods adopted at the beginning of the last century by 29 countries, including Germany, The United States, Canada, Switzerland, Austria, Venezuela, Estonia, Argentina, Norway, Denmark, Sweden (until 1976), Brazil, Italy, Greece, and Spain.
They talk active free contraceptives for low-IQ women, vasectomies or tubal ligations for criminals, sperm banks with contributions from high achievers, and incentives for college students to procreate. Modern heritable engineering and biotechnology are readily relevant to eugenic projects. Cloning can serve to preserve the genes of the fittest. Embryo selection and prenatal diagnosis of genetically unhealthy embryos can reduce the number of the unfit.
But even these harmless variants of eugenics fly in the face of liberalism. Inequality, claim the proponents of heritable amelioration, is genetic, not environmental. complete men are created unequal and as much subject to the natural laws of heredity as are cows and bees. Inferior people give birth to inferior offspring and, thus, propagate their inferiority.
Even if this were genuine - which is at best questionable - the question is whether the inferior specimen of our species possess the inalienable far to reproduce? If society is to bear the costs of over-population - social welfare, medical care, daycare centers - then society has the far to regulate procreation. But does it have the far to act discriminately in doing so?
Another dilemma is whether we have the moral far - let uncomparable the necessary knowledge - to interfere with natural as well as ethnic and demographic trends. Eugenicists counter that contraception and indiscriminating medicine already do just that. Yet, studies show that the more rich and educated a population becomes - the less fertile it is. Birth rates throughout the world have born dramatically already.
Instead of culling the great unwashed and the unworthy - wouldn't it be a better idea to educate them (or their off-spring) and provide them with economic opportunities (euthenics rather than eugenics)? Human populations seem to self-regulate. A gentle and persistent nudge in the right direction - of multiplied affluence and healthier schooling - might achieve more than a hundred eugenic programs, voluntary or compulsory.
That eugenics presents itself not merely as a biological-social agenda, but as a panacea, ought to arouse suspicion. The regular eugenics text reads more like a catechism than a reasoned argument. past all-encompassing and omnicompetent plans tended to end traumatically - especially when they contrasted a hominian elite with a dispensable underclass of persons.
Above all, eugenics is active human hubris. To presume to know better than the lottery of life is haughty. new medicine largely obviates the need for eugenics in that it allows equal genetically defective people to lead beautiful normal lives. Of course, Man himself - being part of Nature - may be regarded as nothing much than an agent of natural selection. Still, many of the arguments later in favor of eugenics can be turned against it with embarrassing ease.
Consider sick children. True, they are a burden to society and a probable menace to the gene pool of the species. But they also inhibit further reproduction in their family by consuming the financial and psychological resources of the parents. Their genes - however imperfect - contribute to genetic diversity. equal a badly mutated phenotype sometimes yields precious scientific knowledge and an absorbing genotype.
The underlying Weltbild of eugenics is static - but the realistic world is dynamic. There is no such thing as a "correct" heritable makeup towards which we must complete strive. A combination of genes may be perfectly convertible to one environment - but woefully inadequate in another. It is therefore prudent to encourage genetic diversity or polymorphism.
The much rapidly the international changes, the greater the value of mutations of complete sorts. One never knows whether today's maladaptation will not prove to be tomorrow's winner. Ecosystems are invariably comprised of niches and different genes - even mutated ones - may suited different niches.
In the 18th century most peppered moths in Britain were silvery gray, same from lichen-covered trunks of silver birches - their habitat. Darker moths were gobbled up by rapacious birds. Their mutated genes tested to be lethal. As soot from sprouting factories smoky these trunks - the very unvarying genes, hitherto fatal, became an utter blessing. The blacker specimen survived while their hitherto perfectly adapted fairer brethren perished ("industrial melanism"). This mode of natural selection is called directional.
Moreover, "bad" genes are often connected to "desirable genes" (pleitropy). Sickle cell anemia protects certain African tribes against malaria. This is titled "diversifying or unquiet natural selection". stylized selection can thus fast deteriorate into adverse selection repayable to ignorance.
Modern eugenics relies on statistics. It is no longer haunted with causes - but with phenomena and the promising effects of intervention. If the unfavorable traits of off-spring and parents are strongly correlated - then preventing parents with certain ineligible qualities from multiplying will surely reduce the incidence of said dispositions in the general population. Yet, correlation does not necessarily imply causation. The manipulation of one parameter of the correlation does not inevitably alter it - or the incidence of the outcome.
Eugenicists often hark back to wisdom garnered by generations of breeders and farmers. But the unequivocal lesson of thousands of years of artificial selection is that cross-breeding (hybridization) - equal of two lines of inferior heritable stock - yields valuable genotypes. Inter-marriage between races, groups in the population, ethnic groups, and clans is thus bound to improve the species' chances of survival much than any eugenic scheme.
About The Author
Submitted by root on Tue, 2006-09-26 07:38.
Levi Bloom
I'm doomed you know what it's like to be sick. Stuffy head, moving nose, sore throat, coughing, fever, and maybe even vomiting. It really sucks. And with the overuse of prescription antibiotics, you can't be sure if they will even help next time around.
So it's time now to test down some alternative medicine that was actually used commonly before 1938. This product is colloidal silver, which is simply silver particles suspended in pure water. articulate was pretty best-selling back in the early 1900's, but it was fairly expensive to make. It slowly faded into the background once much "financially lucrative" drugs came out.
Here's a little info from a couple decades ago:
The March 1978 issue of Science Digest, in the article, "Our Mightiest Germ Fighter," reported: "Thanks to eye-opening research, silver is emerging as a wonder of new medicine. An antibiotic kills perhaps a half-dozen diametric disease organisms, but silver kills whatsoever 650. insusceptible strains fail to develop. Moreover, silver is virtually non-toxic."
From what I've heard, it sounds like the articulate binds to an enzyme in these single-cell organisms, and then the organism can no longer use oxygen, so it dies. You get the picture.
The cool thing is, while the silver destroys these pathogens, it does not harm the cells in the surrounding body tissues. It's harmless for humans, animals, and plants! And you do not develop a resistance to it like with opposite antibiotics.
Feel free to use it for nasal drops or put it directly on cuts or burns. It's even supposed to fight athlete's foot!
I started using it last year (2003) and have had pretty good luck. Even though I'm in college and live in a dormitory, I haven't been tubercular for more than a few days and never was I sick sufficient to have to stay in bed more than usual. Whenever my mom first told me to take it, I same it was worthless, but I have since changed my mind.
If you want to try it out, I suggest you buy it from LifeForce International. Some opposite sources are quite inferior.
If you're feeling sick, the sooner you try it the better!
Article not evaluated by the FDA. Some statements are just the opinion of the author and should not be old as a secondary for qualified medical advice. There are no guarantees that it will work for you.
About The Author
Submitted by root on Thu, 2006-09-21 21:38.
Jesse S. Somer
Health and medical advice on the Internet: Use it wisely to overcome illness and find more happiness in your life.
I’ve got a bit of a problem with depression and anxiety. I’ve been tackling these problems for several years without the use of modern medicine. Tai Chi, meditation, martial arts (exercise), and positive interaction with other people seem to keep a lid on my illnesses most of the time. I don’t same the idea of medication’s side effects, and I don’t believe the answers in life are often found in the easy path (E.G. taking a pill), but rather on the woody path of effort and determination. This is not to say that I don’t feel medicine is not effective, not at all, I just feel all the options should be looked at before making big decisions to do with one’s health.
Health of body and mind has always been one of the most important issues in life for us humans. sighted a doctor is usually the primo option when cardinal comes down with an illness or ailment, but people have always proved alternative routes to recovery: E. G. the ‘home doctor’ books of old. Maybe you don’t like sitting in a room ready with a bunch of other tubercular people-you might catch something there! You could be housebound, or maybe you feel like quick-eared several opinions as you’ve found departed experiences with whatsoever doctors have been tainted by bad judgments. Well, the Internet is present with a multitude of options to help you get better.
Medical advice and data abounds on this household tool in the form of self-help sites, searchable medical encyclopedias, support groups, live chats with doctors, and you can even have professional consultations machine-accessible (for a fee). My advice is to just be wary of the type of language that the site is expressing. galore sites will have extensive lists informatory you of complete the symptoms in the Universe: everybody on Earth could be construed as being ill in some way! This can cause people with a propensity for hypochondria to start diagnosing themselves with all sorts of diseases. In my case, reading about all the symptoms of depression actually made me feel more low as it ready-made me focus on my weaknesses (without too many hopeful perspectives or treatments expressed on whatsoever sites).
Look for sites that look at things in a positive light. Maybe search down some alternative therapies as well so you can get all the viable different approaches that can be usurped to tackle your illness. Some websites can be precise helpful with reciprocal features like ‘Ask the doctor”, machine-accessible questionnaires, and question and answer archives that give you an idea of what others have asked and the solutions they were presented with. There is heaps of information on some prescription and over-the counter medicines so you can make your choices in an informed manner. You can often find information special to groups, same children, the elderly, men and women.
Just remember your body is your temple and you must be on guard of many variables not often expected in literature. Beware of medicines from other countries as they may be different or have different names. Keep in mind single you know your personal history, complete people are different, and always get several opinions. Watch out for sites with grandiose claims as miracles come from higher powers and not from companies who might just want to get rich quick!
I do acknowledge the fitness and diet sites as being very effective as well. You can devise your own fitness plan derived from lifestyle information, and forums and newsgroups give you many opinions on which roadworthy to take. You can have your diet analyzed by on-line trainers, whatsoever of which send free newsletters and even send you emails of encouragement to help you towards your goal.
So, there’s a whole new international of on-line health advice and information for humanity to access right from home. Get complete your options and remember your attitude is often the first real step to overcoming physical, mental, and supernatural adversity!
About The Author
Submitted by root on Thu, 2006-09-14 19:38.
Janet Male
Natural Health just active sums it up! Good health should be natural. Drug companies are relying on us to increase their business. Don't let them get a look in! Look aft your birthright, which is perfect health.
The easiest way to do this is by favourable an ayurvedic lifestyle. This is an ancient health care system based on keeping yourself healed by following a healthy lifestyle. Sounds simple, doesn't it? The truth always is!
People often visit ayurvedic doctors when they are well. By a simple pulse diagnosis the doctor can tell if there are any wakeless seated imbalances which could lead to disease. If this is the case then simple lifestyle changes are advised.
The danger is thus averted before it arrives!
As you can see this is the opposite of modern medicine. So many of us abuse our bodies then rush to the doctor when we are ill.
This would seem ludicrous to a follower of ayurveda!
An ayurvedic lifestyle is an pleasant one. It advocates staying in harmony with the laws of nature. This means getting plenty of rest, having a healthy, plain diet and attractive enjoyable exercise. Meditation is recomended. If there are whatsoever imbalances in the system healing herbs may be recommended.
Ayurveda, a sanskrit word, means "science of health and longevity"
According to this science every person has a unique body type [prakriti]. Roughly these divide into three types, Vata, Pitta and Kapha. However, combinations of one, two or all three types are possible.
Each type is prone to diametric ailments. This doesn't mean they'll get them. They retributory need to take more care in certain areas.
For example, vata types are often anxious, pittas angry, and kaphas far too laid back!
I have heard it said that aft a meal a vata type should lie down and rest, pittas go for a walk, and kaphas wash the dishes.
I'm sure the kapha types will object to that!
As the title says this is retributory an introduction to ayurveda. However, I hope I've whetted your appetite!
About The Author
Submitted by root on Wed, 2006-09-06 01:38.
Kieran Whittemore
For thousands of years, herbs have played an important role in man’s life. The ancients old them for built health and wellbeing, and today, equal with the miracles of modern medicine, herbs continue to play a prodigious role in keeping us strong, harmless and robust.
No matter what your problem or need, there is likely to be an herb that’s just right for you!
Did you know that most people refer to herbs as weed!?
With so galore applications and so many different types and functions, it’s no wonder that our modern culture is experiencing much a strong interest in just what herbs can do for us. Although herbs have been around since the beginning of hominian history, those of us in hesperian societies may single just now be realizing the big power of these seemingly innocuous plants.
And what power they possess! Herbs have been shown to heal stomach ailments, improve mood, lose weight, stave off the common cold, and even to help us quit smoking. They even have the power to help regulate blood pressure, cure degenerative conditions, and alleviate PMS symptoms. As flavorful additions to our food, they can boost our immune system and contribute to healthier overall health. It’s no wonder that over a quarter of prescriptions drugs on the market today contain whatsoever sort of plant derivative—and while new society is often quick to use the latest technology to cure our ills, herbal remedies are all natural, without dangerous broadside effects.
Did you know that more than 10 specific herbs are mentioned in the Bible?
Have you heard the saying, “Everything old is new again”? Well, it’s true that herbs are enjoying a popular resurgence, but it’s not necessarily your grandmother’s version of herbs that we’re speaking about here! Today’s herbs come in a diversity of forms, from herb-infused dipping oils that are served with bread for a snack to herb-scented bath oils to fancy pre-packaged teas. We’ve come a long way from the days of simply boiling rosemary twigs in water!
It’s true that we still revere the purity of fresh herbs, but we’ve also scholarly to embrace the more sophisticated herbal products and much expensive herbal remedies. Celebrities shell down big bucks for herbal cosmetics and skin care products, and herb-scented candles can cost upwards of $50 or even $100 dollars! Fancy herbal potpourris are sold expensively at upscale boutiques, and dishes featuring trendy herbs are offered at the hottest, most alone restaurants.
About The Author
Submitted by root on Fri, 2006-08-18 11:08.
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