This brings us to the second wave of modern eugenics, which differs from the first wave, most notably, with respect to its methodology. Whereas first-wave eugenicists strove to improve the “human stock” by altering society-wide patterns of …Nicholas Agar, 1998. “Liberal eugenics,” Public Affairs Quarterly, volume 12, number 2, pp. 137–155.
Blaise Agüera y Arcas, 2022. “Do large language models understand us?” Daedalus, volume 151, number 2, pp. 183–197.
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Nicholas Agar
philosopher · 2 mentions across 1 reading
In this course
Nicholas Agar is a philosopher known for his work on "liberal eugenics," a framework that distinguishes genetic enhancement from coercive state eugenic programs by grounding it in individual reproductive choice and parental autonomy. The course readings invoke his concept to historicize contemporary debates around AI-driven optimization of human traits and algorithmic selection, situating genetic engineering within a lineage of enhancement technologies that raises similar questions about consent, inequality, and the automation of human futures. His work provides a philosophical scaffold for thinking through how market-driven, decentralized systems of optimization—whether genetic or computational—reproduce eugenic logic without eugenic institutions.
Mentioned in 1 reading
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