"But if you can breed cattle for milk yield, horses for running speed, and dogs for herding skill, why on Earth should it be impossible to breed humans for mathematical, musical or athletic ability? Objections such as "these are not one-dimensional abilities" apply equally to cows, horses and dogs and never stopped anybody in practice. I wonder whether, some 60 years after Hitler's death, we might at least venture to ask what the moral difference is between breeding for musical ability and forcing a child to take music lessons. Or why it is acceptable to train fast runners and high jumpers but not to breed them. I can think of some answers, and they are good ones, which would probably end up persuading me. But hasn't the time come when we should stop being frightened even to put the question?"
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Philosophers from EnglandScience authorsNon-fiction authors from EnglandBiologists from EnglandSkeptics
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
From the Afterword, The Herald (Glasgow, Scotland, 20 November 2006)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Dawkins
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Richard Dawkins
evolutionary biologist, ethologist, science writer
1941 · United Kingdom
337 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Richard Dawkins →
Related Quotes
"If your pet is dying in pain, you will be condemned for cruelty if you do not summon the vet to give him a general an…"
"The director of a zoo is entitled to "put down" a chimpanzee that is surplus to requirements, while any suggestion th…"
"Evolution too, like embryonic development, is gradual. Every one of our ancestors, back to the common root we share w…"
"The feeling that members of one's own species deserve special moral consideration as compared with members of other s…"
"It is better for the genes of Darwin's wasp that the caterpillar should be alive, and therefore fresh, when it is eat…"
"Wild animals almost never die of old age: starvation, disease, or predators catch up with them long before they becom…"
"The total amount of suffering per year in the natural world is beyond all decent contemplation. During the minute tha…"
"You know you've won the argument when the only counter argument they can find is that you are white or male or old."
"Eugenics was not inspired by Darwin's natural selection but by ancient agricultural ARTIFICIAL selection. Eugenics is…"
"Don't call him "clock boy" since he never made a clock. Hoax Boy, having hoaxed his way into the White House, now wan…"