9 Scientific Theories That Brought A Lot Of Evil To Humankind
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Satan, shaitaan, rakshasa – no matter what you call it, the concept of evil exists in every religion and every culture. And it’s not just the stuff of myth or folklore by the way. Evil has manifested itself in humanity time and again, revealing the devious, devilish acts that our species are capable of. Sadly, some of this evil has been brought forth by science – the branch of knowledge that is supposed to enlighten us and help us improve ourselves.
In that light, here are 9 scientific theories that played the devil and threatened the very existence of humanity!
1. Scientific Racism
The central focus of this kind of racism is in proving that certain races are much superior to others. Making its way during the era of slavery, the theory justified why specific races should do the biddings of others.
Promulgated by Joseph Arthur de Gobineau, a French sociologist, this theory believed that Aryans were a superior race in every way – be it intelligence, beauty or physical strength (1). Hitler believed in this theory so deeply that he called for the Holocaust of Jews – a ‘defective’ race, which lead to the killing of 4 to 8 million people.
2. Eugenics
Eugenics emphasized the concept of human selection, believing that this is the only way humans can be improved. The idea comes from Francis Galton, an English researcher, who stressed on the importance of enhancing the gene pool by mating with only those who were devoid of any ‘imperfections’ (2). Nazi Germany took this idea one step ahead with ‘Negative Eugenics,’ wherein people were not allowed to mate with those either physically or mentally ‘defective.’ As a result, sterilization was legalized in countries such as the US, Great Britain, Switzerland, Denmark, and Japan (3).
3. Telegony
The basis of this bizarre theory was that a woman’s first child will bear a striking resemblance to a woman’s first sexual partner (4), (5). Creationists widely used this theory to prove that a woman’s virginity should be preserved before marriage. As usual, the Nazis used telegony to their advantage too, stating that if a woman had a relationship with a man who’s not Aryan, she could never have a ‘pure’ child. It’s impossible to determine the number of women that suffered at the hands of this theory.
4. Flat Earth As The Center Of The Universe
Self-explanatory as this theory is, many people believed that the Earth was at the center of our solar system. Thankfully, Nicolaus Copernicus rectified that, proving that the sun was the center (6). Moreover, people also held the belief that the earth was flat! And even though it’s been proved that’s not the case, many people still believe the former to be true. In fact, during the Middle Ages, people who opposed the flat earth as the center of the universe theory were severely punished by being set on fire.
5. Dale Carnegie’s ‘Effective Communication’
Dale Carnegie propounded that the best way to behave and get people to like you is to always smile and suppress any kind of negative emotions that you feel. This was his mantra for success. Dale Carnegie’s theory puts forth the idea that you should try to gain sympathy and make conversing a pleasant experience by smiling. This kind of pretense can lead to immense stress, an outburst or even a psychosomatic disorder.
6. Homeopathy
Widely used even to this day as an effective remedy for ailments, homeopathy’s core idea is that disease kills disease. Founded by Samuel Hahnemann, homeopathy works by prescribing medicines that contain trace amounts of the disease’s causative agents in order to treat the disease one has. To put it simply, homeopathic medicines are diluted poisons. Clinical experiments and scientists have proven that homeopathy is nothing but a scam. Additionally, the WHO warns against using homeopathic medicines as the main treatment as it can cause serious side effects (7).
7. Focal Infection
Diseased organs should be surgically removed as their poison can spread and damage other organs is the core of this theory (8). Popularized in the 19th century, doctors of this time believed that harmful bacteria were responsible for several diseases, including psychosis. This why potentially harmful organs such as the appendix were surgically removed. Modern findings don’t agree with this theory and call it baseless, stating the example that toxins from infected teeth don’t affect the mind in any way (9).
8. Bloodletting
The foundation of this theory is that an excess of blood is the basis of all diseases. Hence, excess blood needs to be leeched in order for the patient to be cured. This theory was the brainchild of Hippocrates who stated that the human body was composed of 4 humors (read: fluids) – blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile (10). Each of them had to maintain a proper balance for the body to function properly. A disharmony in the balance led to diseases, which could only be cured by bloodletting. This obviously led to calamities as the chances of infection were always quite high. Surprisingly, bloodletting is used to this day in certain parts of the world (11).
9. Phrenology
Phrenology states that your character lies in the shape of your skull (12). It was propounded by an Austrian anatomist, Franz Joseph Gall, who claimed that a person’s mental state and characteristics were dependent on their skull shape, drawing up a ‘phrenological chart’ to prove his point. People believe in this theory to a grave extent as even now, without any real proof or basis, we deem certain facial features as ‘suspicious,’ while certain others as ‘trustworthy.’
These scientific theories might not be so prevalent now but they are dangerous nonetheless. Belief in them is best discouraged!
