History and future of eugenics as a bioethical problem

Eugenika predstavlja jedan od proučavanih problema unutar domene bioetike. Iako je pojam eugenike definiran tek krajem devetnaestog stoljeća, eugenika svoje korijene vuče iz mnogo dalje povijesti. Eugeniku općenito možemo podijeliti na staru i novu eugeniku. Cilj stare eugenike je poboljšanje neke populacije, dok se nova eugenika uglavnom fokusira na ispunjenje želja pojedinca. Staru eugeniku karakterizira nedobrovoljnost, dok je kod nove eugenike riječ o slobodnom izboru pojedinca s obzirom na svoja prava te u tome leži najveća razlika između stare i nove eugenike. U ovome se diplomskome radu kao primjeri stare eugenike proučavaju američka i nacistička eugenika, a kao primjeri nove eugenike opisani su laissez-faire eugenika i suvremena kineska eugenika. Nadalje se u ovome diplomskome radu predstavljaju najvažniji aspekti eugenike u hrvatskoj te budućnost eugenike zajedno sa svojim potencijalnim rizicima u vidu etičkih problema i opasnosti za čovječanstvo. Naposlijetku se predstavlja provedeno istraživanje u obliku anketnog upitnika, a čiji je cilj dobiti uvid u stavove studenata Fakulteta za odgojne i obrazovne znanosti u Osijeku o eugenici. Nakon provedenoga istraživanja i interpretacije rezultata, zaključuje se kako se studenti ne slažu s eugeničkim idejama, kako uglavnom nisu sigurni u svoje znanje o tematici te kako su studenti koji su tijekom studija slušali kolegij Bioetika informiraniji o temi i svjesniji aktualnosti i izazova moderne eugenike.Eugenics represents one of the critical issues within the domain of bioethics. Although the term eugenics was defined just at the end of the nineteenth century, eugenics has its roots in much further history. Eugenics can generally be divided into old and new eugenics. Old eugenics aims to improve a population, while new eugenics mainly focuses on fulfilling an individual’s wishes. Old eugenics is characterized by involuntariness, while new eugenics is about the individual’s free choice regarding his rights, which is the most significant difference between old and new eugenics. In this thesis, American and Nazi eugenics are studied as examples of old eugenics, and laissez-faire eugenics and modern Chinese eugenics are described as examples of new eugenics. Furthermore, this thesis presents the most critical aspects of eugenics in Croatia and the future of eugenics, along with its potential risks in the form of ethical problems and dangers for humanity. Finally, the research conducted in the form of a questionnaire is presented, the aim of which is to gain insight into the attitudes od students of the Faculty of Educational Sciences in Osijek about eugenics. After the conducted research and interpretation of the results, it is concluded that students disagree with eugenic ideas, that they are primarily unsure of their knowledge of the subject and that students who took the Bioethics course during their studies are more informed about the subject and more aware of the current affairs and challenges of modern eugenics