> So since the mindless *always* win these fights, who can suggest
> a good two-word phrase for a voluntary movement of people who
> favor obtaining for their children the best natural sperm or eggs
> that they can?
>
> Lee
>
If that is your aim, then "Eugenics" is not the word you want. From
Dictionary.com:
--- euˇgenˇics (y-jnks) n. (used with a sing. verb) The study of hereditary improvement of the human race by controlled selective breeding. ---Note "controlled selective breeding". ie: selecting the fittest members of a generation, by given fitness criteria, and allowing only those chosen members to breed.
The important point is that selective breeding is a centrally controlled process. The breeders themselves do not make the choice about who breeds; some external agency does. This is exactly the historical usage of the term.
On the other hand, obtaining the best genetic material for your children is a more laudable goal. This implies a decentralised decision making process, resting with the parents. If you accept that it is reasonable to make fundamental decisions affecting the future of your children (a pretty big part of a parent's job IMO), then it would fit in as one of a slew of methods used by transhumanists/extropians to improve the potential of our children.
I'm not sure if I'd do it personally. I wonder if pre-conception genetic modification of future generations of humans will make a pinch of difference, beyond those mods required to stop kids from dying before we can get full cell repair technology, etc etc. However, I can see how one might reasonably choose this path of action. Fair enough.
But... it is not Eugenics! There is no need to saddle yourself with such an inappropriate term, especially one that is (quite justifiably) so negatively loaded.
Emlyn
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Fri Oct 12 2001 - 14:40:12 MDT