Diana Fleischman

American evolutionary psychologist Diana Fleischman interviewed on Rebel Wisdom
Geoffrey Miller and Diana Fleischman on Rebel Wisdom

Diana Santos Fleischman (born April 22, 1981) is an American evolutionary psychologist. Her field of research includes the study of disgust, human sexuality, eugenics, and hormones and behaviour.[1][2] She is also involved in the natalism, effective altruism, animal welfare, and feminism[3] movements.

Quotes

  • Historically, eugenicists were focused not only on genetically heritable characteristics but also potentially effective environmental and cultural influences on children’s traits. Chinese eugenicists led the charge to eradicate foot binding, and implemented programs of maternal education so they could provide better care for infants. Eugenicists also initiated the mandatory treatment of infectious diseases like syphilis, which causes blindness, deafness, and cognitive disability. If you think women should be treated for sexually transmitted infections or rubella so they don’t have a disabled child, you’re advocating the same goals as many historical eugenicists
  • Those who rail against eugenics in any form engage in a technique where they conflate an easily defended position with a more difficult to defend position (AKA the Motte and Bailey strategy). The easily defended position is that we should not murder or forcibly sterilize people on the basis of their genetics or disability. This position is conflated with several more difficult-to-defend positions. These more difficult-to-defend positions include that we should not study the genetics of desirable or undesirable characteristics, that we should not label any characteristics as desirable or undesirable and that we should not consider how any policy could change the genetic propensities of future generations.
  • Given how closely eugenics has been associated with Nazis and the Holocaust, it is interesting to consider the degree to which Jewish people have embraced eugenics. I wouldn’t be here to write this essay had my Jewish grandfather not fled the Nazis in the 1930s. The Talmud expressed eugenic principles about who could marry whom—for example, it is forbidden for a woman to marry a man with epilepsy— German genetic counselors are much more likely to express disapproval for eugenic principles than Israeli genetic counsellors. Israeli genetic counselors are more likely to endorse statements such as “it is socially irresponsible to knowingly give birth to an infant with a serious genetic disorder” and “it is important to reduce the number of deleterious genes in a population.” The Israeli National Program for the Detection and Prevention of Birth Defects offers free testing for many genetic diseases, and Israeli women are more likely to get tested than women in other countries.

References

  1. ↑ Perry, Louise. "The quiet return of eugenics". The Spectator. 15 June 2024.
  2. ↑ Staff: Dr Diana Fleischman - University of Portsmouth. www2.port.ac.uk.
  3. ↑ Diana S. Fleischman - Psychology's Feminist Voices. www.feministvoices.com.
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