From a purely Darwinian perspective there’s a strong practical objection to eugenics. Evolution is the result of natural processes, we can only guess as to what made one species better than another and subsequently more deserving of survival. Eugenics is an attempt to override a natural process, declaring with our limited knowledge which section of humanity is better and more deserving of survival, the problem is the eugenicists might be wrong. The proper Darwinian approach to improving humanity is a species is to not, just do your thing and let nature take it’s course, eugenicists pervert the concept for their own twitsted purpose.
Which society is more likely to survive?
The society that believes the survival of the fittest individuals is most important? Thus they destroy others within their group that don’t measure-up to some arbitrary ideal. Don’t bother to help others in their group since they should be able to fend for themselves. Believe immunizations perpetuate a streak of weak genes through the population.
Or the society that believes the survival of the group is most important? Believe that all individuals can contribute to the group in some way. Believes the group is more likely to survive because of its variation of traits and genes. Knows that those who die due to disease or accident may have been able to save them in the future.
I see your point, but look at the full title of Darwin’s book:
On the Origin of Species
by Means of Natural Selection,
or the Preservation of Favoured Races
in the Struggle for Life
I think you can see just from the title (i.e. ‘favoured races’) that human eugenics could be a tempting implementation of Darwinian ideas for some people. I’m not saying that Darwin actively encouaraged human engineering, but he discusses at length how animal breeding went about producing improvements in various species. It doesn’t take much of an imagination to move from animal breeding to human breeding. After all, doesn’t Darwinian theory demonstrate that we are all “animals”.
So, my point is that Darwinian theory lends itself to human eugenics - maybe not necessarily so, but it is not a stretch to see how it could be used that way. On the other hand, it is not possible for Jesus’ teachings, taken as a whole, to be used as a defense or motivation to commit the atrocities done in His name. The acts would be completely at odds with His character and moral teachings (as in the Sermon on the Mount).
How so.
If human consciousness is itself a direct result of natural processes, then it follows that any activity, including human intelligence and intent, is also the result of natural processes.
How then can eugenics be considered a foreign agent or mechanism within the very system that created it?