Bring Back Eugenics | Dangerous Ideas | Big Think

#12: Bring Back Eugenics | Dangerous Ideas | Big Think: "The word “eugenics” invariably calls one thing to mind: the efforts of the Nazi party to purify the Aryan race of “undesirable traits” during the Holocaust. These horrific events remain among mankind's darkest moments. Yet in recent years, a group of bioethicists have begun to reclaim this term, calling for a new “liberal eugenics,” that they say could spur humanity on to a higher stage of evolution.

To some extent, eugenics is already currently in practice: In America, more than 90 percent of fetuses that test positive for Down Syndrome are aborted. But this new brand of liberal eugenics would seek to emphasize positive traits rather than to suppress those seen as negative ones. Scientists can already choose the sex of an infant with relative certainty and can select for traits like hair and eye color. And many scientists expect that they will have even greater control in the near future."