Only the one who does nothing is not mistaken, but in search of the truth people very often turn to the wrong path. There have been cases in the history of mankind …
Only the one who does nothing is not mistaken, but in search of the truth people very often turn to the wrong path. There have been cases in human history when this has had dire consequences for millions of people. In 1950, the rationalist philosopher Bertrand Russell wrote an essay "Logic and Knowledge", where he listed the errors and mistakes of humanity, which lead us far from humanistic values.
We have collected for you 10 scientific theories that prove how much people can be wrong. The mistakes of the past are worth remembering so as not to repeat them in the future.
Racial theory
Key point: some races are better than others.
This theory dates back to the era of slavery to come up with a scientific explanation for why some people should obey others.
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In the 19th century, the French writer and sociologist Joseph de Gobineau, in his writings on racial inequality, declared the Aryans the superior race, believing that they were superior to others in physical strength, intelligence, beauty and tenacity. This theory was developed by the German anthropologist Hans Gunther. The Nazi policy of "racial hygiene" began with the aim of discrimination and then the destruction of "inferior" people, primarily Jews. Estimates of the number of victims range from 4 to 8 million.
Modern science does not in any way connect the mental abilities of a person with his skin color and origin.
Eugenics
The main idea: a person can be "improved" through selection.
The author of the idea of improving the gene pool and the development of qualities valuable to society was the English researcher Francis Galton. But the question is: what qualities are considered valuable? Will not a person with high creative potential, but with congenital physical defects be overboard in the selection process? And many signs, the same alcoholism, for example, are manifested under the influence of the external environment in which a person grows up.
In Nazi Germany, "negative eugenics" developed with the aim of stopping the reproduction of people who, for one reason or another, were considered "inferior." Programs for forced sterilization of people also existed in the Scandinavian countries, the USA, Denmark, Switzerland, England, and Japan.
With the development of cloning and the emergence of the possibility of making changes in human DNA, the question of the ethics of such experiments is again relevant and causes a lot of controversy and discussion. For example, in Iceland, all pregnant women whose children are diagnosed with Down syndrome during ultrasound have an abortion. Is it correct?
Telegony
Key point: The baby will be like a woman's first partner.
This theory was popular with representatives of the religious and philosophical concept of creationism, who tried to prove that a woman must always remain pure and pure before marriage. In their opinion, intimacy with any man, and especially with the very first man, affects the appearance and character traits of future children. It is difficult to calculate how many women have suffered from this delusion.
The idea of telegonia (literal translation of this term - "far-born") was used by the Nazis, who believed that after relations with "non-Aryan" men, German women would no longer be able to give birth to a "pure" child.
Angela Creen and Russell Bondurianski from Australia conducted an experiment on flies and calculated that the body size of their offspring was determined by the body size of the first male, not the father of that offspring. But here's the bad luck: similar experiments were not performed on other animals, there are many chances for an error, and the structure of the reproductive system of a person and a fly is definitely different.
So with the discovery of genetics, this theory does not hold up to any criticism.
Dale Carnegie's Theory of Effective Communication
The main idea: the rejection of their own "I" and the obligatory smile on the face.
A person who loves to speak in public, easily makes new acquaintances, devotes a lot of time to work, does not enter into conflicts with anyone and constantly smiles, it seems to others that he is successful and satisfied with life. But it's not that simple.
In his books, Dale Carnegie often calls for forgetting about your own self and abandoning your opinion in order to please the interlocutor and make communication more pleasant. But a person who constantly pretends will constantly experience stress and a feeling of depression, and this will sooner or later result in psychosomatic disorders. Playing in public like this can help achieve some goals, but it certainly won't make a person happier.
Carnegie advises people to smile constantly. Yes, this advice works well for extroverts, and introverts certainly won't adopt it.
Focal sepsis
The main idea: during the inflammatory process, toxins are released into the blood, which poison the body, so it is best to remove the diseased organ.
The theory of focal sepsis gained popularity in the 19th century and led to a huge number of unnecessary surgeries. Doctors believed that harmful bacteria in the body could cause many diseases and even psychosis. As a result, it has become a popular practice to remove “potentially dangerous” organs, such as the appendix. In Europe and America, due to caries, the patient could remove not only teeth, but also tonsils and adenoids.
Modern research proves that the theory of focal infection has no scientific confirmation. Such operations only harmed the patients, and the toxins allegedly released by infected teeth did not affect the psyche in any way. In most cases, traditional methods of treatment could help patients.
Bloodletting is a way to cure all diseases
The main idea: all diseases from an excess of blood.
Hippocrates was the creator of the theory of four liquids, according to which a healthy body must keep in balance the four "humors" - blood, mucus, yellow and black bile. It was believed that all diseases appear due to an imbalance in this balance, in particular from too much blood. By doing bloodletting by opening blood vessels or hirudotherapy, the patient got rid of the "bad" blood.
From a modern point of view, the danger of bloodletting is obvious: blood poisoning from dirty instruments, transmission of dangerous infections through the blood and weakening of the body. There was a danger of damaging the arteries and causing severe bleeding.
This method of treatment has been popular for almost two thousand years and is still practiced: in particular in Asian countries, many diseases are treated with bloodletting - hijam.
Phrenology
The main idea: what kind of skull - so is the character.
Austrian physician and anatomist Franz Josef Gall believed that thoughts, emotions and mental characteristics of a person affect the shape of his skull, as they are embedded in the hemispheres of the brain. He drew "phrenological maps", where each zone was responsible for a certain character trait. A bulge on the skull in this place meant that this feature was developed in a person, and a depression was not.
The hero of Leonardo DiCaprio in the film "Django Unchained" was an adherent of this theory, because it justified slavery. Likewise, in all ages they tried to read the character on the face, and if they found "unreliable" features, this was a sufficient reason to suspect a person of crimes and violations of the law.
With the development of neurophysiology, it was proved that the shape of the skull and the size of the brain did not affect a person's character in any way, and physiognomy was declared a pseudoscience.