Alfred Russel Wallace’s Darwinian Opposition to Eugenics
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: This article revisits the question of Alfred Russel Wallace's relationship to eugenics and explores the basis of Wallace's consistent rejection of attempts to label him a eugenicist. Whereas some scholars have identified an 'ambiguity' or 'tension' between Wallace's hereditarianism and his libertarianism and maintained - despite Wallace's statements to the contrary - that he was, in some senses, a eugenicist, this article argues that Wallace's oft-repeated claims he was not a eugenicist are fully justified. By exploring Wallace's relationship with Francis Galton using a hitherto neglected correspondence between the two concerning the establishment of a proposed laboratory, and Wallace's criticism of non-Darwinian evolutionary mechanisms in the writings of William Bateson and others, this article situates Wallace's opposition to eugenics in his broader ultra-Darwinian agenda. The article concludes by arguing that it is misleading to characterise Wallace as a eugenicist, and that doing so tends to obscure and confuse our understanding of his thought.
Author: David Stack
Institution: University of Reading
Language: English
Topic: Medical History and Research
Subfield: History
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,890
OpenAlex ID: W4404394170