Social and Genetic Influences on Life and Death: A Symposium held by the Eugenics Society in September 1966 PDF
Preview Social and Genetic Influences on Life and Death: A Symposium held by the Eugenics Society in September 1966
EUGENICS SOCIETY SYMPOSIA Volume 3 SOCIAL AND GENETIC INFLUENCES ON LIFE AND DEATH EUGENICS SOCIETY SYMPOSIA Edited by J. E. Meade and A. S. Parkes I. Biological Aspects of Social Problems 1965 2. Genetic and Environmental Factors in Human Ability 1966 Edited by Robert Platt and A. S. Parkes 3. Social and Genetic Influences on Life and Death 1967 SOCIAL AND GENETIC INFLUENCES ON LIFE AND DEATH A Symposium held by the Eugenics Society in September 1966 Edited by THE LORD PLATT Chairman, Clinical Research Board, Medical Research Council, London, England A. S. PARKES Mary Marshall Professor of the Physiology of Reproduction, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England <:f' Springer Science+Business Media, LLC ISBN 978-1-4899-6182-2 ISBN 978-1-4899-6365-9 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4899-6365-9 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 67-30833 First published 1967 by Oliver & Boyd, Ltd. ©Springer Science+ Business Media New York 1967 Originally published by The Eugenics Society in 1967. Softcover reprint of the hardcover I st edition 1967 EDITORS' FOREWORD THE EuGENICS SociETY's two previous symposia, Biological Aspects of Social Problems in 1964 and Genetic and Environmental Factors in Human Abiliry in 1965, have undoubtedly been successful in stimulating the minds of people who are interested in human affairs from many different points ofview. This volume brings to you the texts of the papers read at our Third Symposium, which was held in 1966, Social and Genetic Influences on Life and Death. Surely this is a broad enough title, a subject which could only be dealt with by taking a few examples of the important factors which determine the success or failure of human life from a biological point of view. So once again, we seek to bring to a wide public knowledge which might otherwise be available only in professional journals read by specialists. Once again, we took particular care in the choice of our speakers, and they probably never before have appeared together on the same platform. We are very grateful to them, not only for their spoken word but for letting us have their scripts for publication. As before, we as Officers of the Eugenics Society take formal responsibility for the editing of the Volume; but we are only too willing to acknowledge that the real work has been done by Mrs K. Hodson, the editor of The Eugenics Review. ROBERT PLATT A. s. PARKES v CONTENTS PAGE EDITORs' FoREWORD v GENERAL INTRODUCTION. LoRD PLATT ix CoNCEPTION, PREGNANCY AND BIRTH. Chairman: LoRD PLATT Occurrence and effect of human chromosome abnormalities. P. E. POLAN! 3 Recent developments in medical genetics. C. A. CLARKE 20 Family growth and its effect on the relationship between obstetric factors and child functioning. RAYMOND ILLSLEY 29 Social and biological influences on foetal and infant deaths. THOMAS McKEOWN 43 SoME MAJOR CAusEs oF ILLNEss: I. SoMATIC ILLNEss. Chairman: LORD PLATT 57 Recent trends in mortality. C. C. SPICER 59 Coronary thrombosis-progress and prospects. J. N. MoRRIS 66 Environmental and constitutional factors in the aetiology of lung cancer. C. M. FLETCHER 78 SoME MAJOR CAusEs OF ILLNEss: II. PsYCHOLOGICAL ILLNEss. Chairman: SIR AuBREY LEWIS 93 Introduction. THE CHAIRMAN 95 Some observations on the prevalence of mental illness in contrasting communities. A. H. LEIGHTON 97 Social influences on the prevalence of psychiatric disorder. KENNETH RAWNSLEY 112 Genetic and social influences in the causation of suicide. ERWIN STENGEL 122 Alcoholism. NEIL KESSEL 130 vii viii CONTENTS PAGE CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF AGEING. Chairman: PROFESSOR E. M. BACKE'IT 141 Introduction. THE CHAIRMAN 143 Some economic and social consequences of ageing. P.R. Cox 145 Psychiatric aspects of old age. MARTIN RoTH 163 Ageing and mortality. R. D. CLARKE 183 Genetic studies on longevity. M. J. HoLLINGSWORTH 194 INDEX OF SUBJECTS 215 INDEX OF AUTHORS 218 GENERAL INTRODUCTION SIR RoBERT PLATT (now LoRD PLATT) Cambridg1 UNFORTUNATELY Professor Parkes cannot act as Chairman at this first Session of our Symposium. This is a double dis- appointment to me, because I had intended to thank him for all that he has done in recent years for this Society. He was one, but only one, of the prime movers in starting these Symposia of the Eugenics Society of which this is the third. The first was on Biological Aspects of Social Problems, the second was on Genetic and Environmental Factors in Human Abiliry and this one is on Social and Genetic Influences on Life and Death. Needless to say, this has a rather more medical flavour than the other two, but is not too specialized for intelligent lay people to be able to understand it and also be deeply interested in it. The theme running thr.ough these Symposia is the feel- ing of this Society that perhaps its main raison d' etre nowadays is that it brings together people who approach human problems from different aspects-sociologists, geneticists, medical people, educationalists and many others. In our sessions we are only, of course, touching upon a sample of the various circumstances which influence human life, the quality of human life and the future of the human race from birth to death. What comes out of these discussions should very gradually, in the course of time, rouse more and more people to become interested in these problems. One hopes that this will eventually be to the betterment of the human race, which brings in the ' eugenic ' part of the title of this Society. ix CONCEPTION, PREGNANCY AND BIRTH Chairman: LoRD PLATT
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