The case of the gene

T he history of modernity is a story about humans emancipating themselves from prejudice and superstition through reason and science. Scientific research has been a major driving force of progress for human civilization since the industrial revolution in the mid-18 century. During the past 250 years, humans have rapidly increased their use of science, as a tool not only to understand and shape their environment, but also to improve themselves with better health care and longer, more comfortable lives. Unfortunately, the application of science has not always been appropriate: Darwin’s theory of natural selection was applied to social policies in the form of eugenics from the early 19 century until the second half of the 20 century. In this period, eugenics remained a popular ideology and, as a consequence, genetics was a popular science. It was also a period of significant human migration that increased racial diversity in Western nations, with resulting concerns about racial purity. Naturalism and social Darwinism were very popular throughout, while industrialization led to massive urbanization and increasing pauperism. Politically, it was a time of interventionist policies, such as the so-called Progressive Era in the USA that led to drastic social and political change. ...................................................... “No more divine designer, no more life force is needed; life is determined by a genetic program and evolves as a result of chance—or human choice—and selection” ......................................................