--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the 1920s and 1930s, scientists from…" description: "\"In the 1920s and 1930s, scientists from both the political left and right would not have found the idea of designer babies particularly dangerous - tho..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e46/richard-dawkins-115_1920s_in-the-1920s-and-1930s-scientists-from-b_1584909.jpg" --- # In the 1920s and 1930s, scientists from both the political… ![“In the 1920s and 1930s, scientists from both the political left and right would not have found the idea of designer babies particularly dangerous - though, of course, they would not have used that phrase.” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e46/richard-dawkins-115_1920s_in-the-1920s-and-1930s-scientists-from-b_1584909.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e46/richard-dawkins-115_1920s_in-the-1920s-and-1930s-scientists-from-b_1584909.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e46/richard-dawkins-115_1920s_in-the-1920s-and-1930s-scientists-from-b_1584909.jpg) > “In the 1920s and 1930s, scientists from both the political left and right would not have found the idea of designer babies particularly dangerous - though, of course, they would not have used that phrase.” [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote notes that early 20th‑century scientists, regardless of political leanings, did not view the concept of engineered offspring as alarming, even though they lacked modern terminology. **In simple terms:** Early scientists ignored risks of engineered children. Key Takeaway Recognize how language frames perceived danger. Themes ethics science politics technology history Mood thoughtful analytical Type historical ethical reflective When to use this quote - genetic research policy - public debate on biotechnology - education on bioethics - media framing of scientific advances Key Concepts bioethics social attitudes political ideology Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape our perception of scientific risk? - What responsibilities do scientists have in framing emerging technologies? A Different Perspective Modern understanding of genetic manipulation raises new ethical concerns absent then. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Babies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/babies/) [Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientists/) ## Related quotes > [I've always been into the music of the 1920s and 1930s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jinkx-monsoon/i-ve-always-been-into-the-music-of-the-1920s-and-1930s/) [Jinkx Monsoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jinkx-monsoon/) > [“Designer babies may one day become as technologically feasible as murdering people to harvest their organs – yet remain as peripheral. Just as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/designer-babies-may-one-day-become-as-technologically-feasible-as/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [There is a lot of hype and fear about this much-talked-about prospect of designer babies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/there-is-a-lot-of-hype-and-fear-about-this-much-talked-about-prospect/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [I don't think it would be a good idea for scientists to have more political power. Scientists as a group are more inclined to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-deutsch/i-don-t-think-it-would-be-a-good-idea-for-scientists-to-have-more/) [David Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deutsch/) > [When I talk to people who believe in this global warming crap... it's fake science. They may have educations and degrees that say they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/when-i-talk-to-people-who-believe-in-this-global-warming-crap-it-s/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [My fear is that that's what's going to happen with robotics and the military. Importantly, this discussion has to involve not just the scientists,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/my-fear-is-that-that-s-what-s-going-to-happen-with-robotics-and-the/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [“In the 1920s, Jim Crow Mississippi was, in all facets of society, a kleptocracy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/in-the-1920s-jim-crow-mississippi-was-in-all-facets-of-society-a/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [Mother's interest in contemporary American artists emerged during the 1920s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rockefeller/mother-s-interest-in-contemporary-american-artists-emerged-during-the/) [David Rockefeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rockefeller/) > [In the course of the 1920s and 1930s, great progress was made in the study of the intermediary reactions by which sugar is anaerobically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-adolf-krebs/in-the-course-of-the-1920s-and-1930s-great-progress-was-made-in-the/) Hans Adolf Krebs > [The United States created the best popular songs that were ever written, and from the 1920s to the 1940s, it was a renaissance period.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-bennett/the-united-states-created-the-best-popular-songs-that-were-ever/) [Tony Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-bennett/) > [“As I’ve said before, “the Mod generation”, contrary to popular belief, was not born in even 1958, but in the 1920s after a steady…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruadh-n-j-mcelroy/as-i-ve-said-before-the-mod-generation-contrary-to-popular-belief-was/) [Ruadhán J. McElroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruadh-n-j-mcelroy/) > [“Well, ha-jolly-ha to YOU, young Stiffie-- with knobs on!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/well-ha-jolly-ha-to-you-young-stiffie-with-knobs-on/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [“The prosecutor uttered the party line that would distinguish revue from burlesque for the next thirty years. "The difference is movement. On Broadway, unadorned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dita-von-teese/the-prosecutor-uttered-the-party-line-that-would-distinguish-revue/) [Dita Von Teese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dita-von-teese/) > [“Everywhere was the atmosphere of a long debauch that had to end; the orchestras played too fast, the stakes were too high at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-cowley/everywhere-was-the-atmosphere-of-a-long-debauch-that-had-to-end-the/) [Malcolm Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-cowley/) > [“There was music from my neighbor's house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/there-was-music-from-my-neighbor-s-house-through-the-summer-nights-in/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) ## More by Richard Dawkins > [At the deepest level, all living things that have ever been looked at have the same DNA code. And many of the same genes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/at-the-deepest-level-all-living-things-that-have-ever-been-looked-at/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“The fundamentalist Kurt Wise proclaims that all the evidence in the universe would not change his mind. The true scientist, however passionately he may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-fundamentalist-kurt-wise-proclaims-that-all-the-evidence-in-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Religions do make claims about the universe--the same kinds of claims that scientists make, except they're usually false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/religions-do-make-claims-about-the-universe-the-same-kinds-of-claims/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“much of the Bible is not systematically evil but just plain weird, as you would expect of a chaotically cobbled-together anthology of disjointed documents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/much-of-the-bible-is-not-systematically-evil-but-just-plain-weird-as/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The recurrent laryngeal nerve - which runs from the head to the voice box - goes all the way down into the chest, loops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-recurrent-laryngeal-nerve-which-runs-from-the-head-to-the-voice/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The Roman Catholic Church is an institution for whose gains the phrase "ill-gotten" might have been specially invented. And of all its money-making rip-offs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-roman-catholic-church-is-an-institution-for-whose-gains-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to because we may then at least have the chance to upset their designs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/let-us-understand-what-our-own-selfish-genes-are-up-to-because-we-may/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [What's going to happen when I die? I may be buried, or I may be cremated, I may give my body to science. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/what-s-going-to-happen-when-i-die-i-may-be-buried-or-i-may-be/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Or why it is acceptable to train fast runners and high jumpers but not to breed them. I can think of some answers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/or-why-it-is-acceptable-to-train-fast-runners-and-high-jumpers-but/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [We have seen that living things are too improbable and too beautifully 'designed' to have come into existence by chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-have-seen-that-living-things-are-too-improbable-and-too/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“We will not go quietly away. If in the future that requires violence”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-will-not-go-quietly-away-if-in-the-future-that-requires-violence/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [It's a truly disgusting idea that the creator of the universe - capable of inventing the laws of physics and designing the evolutionary process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/it-s-a-truly-disgusting-idea-that-the-creator-of-the-universe-capable/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) [Explore all 1,239 Richard Dawkins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## More 1920s quotes > [“There was music from my neighbor's house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/there-was-music-from-my-neighbor-s-house-through-the-summer-nights-in/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“Everywhere was the atmosphere of a long debauch that had to end; the orchestras played too fast, the stakes were too high at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-cowley/everywhere-was-the-atmosphere-of-a-long-debauch-that-had-to-end-the/) [Malcolm Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-cowley/) > [“The prosecutor uttered the party line that would distinguish revue from burlesque for the next thirty years. "The difference is movement. On Broadway, unadorned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dita-von-teese/the-prosecutor-uttered-the-party-line-that-would-distinguish-revue/) [Dita Von Teese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dita-von-teese/) > [“Well, ha-jolly-ha to YOU, young Stiffie-- with knobs on!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/well-ha-jolly-ha-to-you-young-stiffie-with-knobs-on/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [“As I’ve said before, “the Mod generation”, contrary to popular belief, was not born in even 1958, but in the 1920s after a steady…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruadh-n-j-mcelroy/as-i-ve-said-before-the-mod-generation-contrary-to-popular-belief-was/) [Ruadhán J. McElroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruadh-n-j-mcelroy/) > [The United States created the best popular songs that were ever written, and from the 1920s to the 1940s, it was a renaissance period.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-bennett/the-united-states-created-the-best-popular-songs-that-were-ever/) [Tony Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-bennett/) > [In the course of the 1920s and 1930s, great progress was made in the study of the intermediary reactions by which sugar is anaerobically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-adolf-krebs/in-the-course-of-the-1920s-and-1930s-great-progress-was-made-in-the/) Hans Adolf Krebs > [Mother's interest in contemporary American artists emerged during the 1920s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rockefeller/mother-s-interest-in-contemporary-american-artists-emerged-during-the/) [David Rockefeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rockefeller/) > [“In the 1920s, Jim Crow Mississippi was, in all facets of society, a kleptocracy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/in-the-1920s-jim-crow-mississippi-was-in-all-facets-of-society-a/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [“How paltry are the traces left behind by a life, even one concentrated around those supposed things of permanence called words. We spend our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnton/how-paltry-are-the-traces-left-behind-by-a-life-even-one-concentrated/) john darnton > [If I could have lived as an actress in any period, it would have been the 1920s - I would have loved to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-bacall/if-i-could-have-lived-as-an-actress-in-any-period-it-would-have-been/) [Lauren Bacall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-bacall/) > [I've loved Alfred Cortot's playing from an early age, and I never tire of hearing his recordings, particularly Chopin and Schumann from the 1920s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/i-ve-loved-alfred-cortot-s-playing-from-an-early-age-and-i-never-tire/) [Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/) > [“The 1920s was a great time for reading altogether—very possibly the peak decade for reading in American life. Soon it would be overtaken by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/the-1920s-was-a-great-time-for-reading-altogether-very-possibly-the/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [France has had socialist presidents on and off since the 1920s, and it remains a free country. Socialists have ruled in many South American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-boot/france-has-had-socialist-presidents-on-and-off-since-the-1920s-and-it/) [Max Boot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-boot/) > [I worked hard learning harmony and theory when I was growing up in Chicago in the 1920s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-hampton/i-worked-hard-learning-harmony-and-theory-when-i-was-growing-up-in/) [Lionel Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-hampton/) Browse all 72 1920s quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In the 1920s and 1930s, scientists from both the political left and right would not have found the idea of designer babies particularly dangerous - though, of course, they would not have used that phrase.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Dawkins" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/in-the-1920s-and-1930s-scientists-from-both-the-political-left-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "1920s" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/in-the-1920s-and-1930s-scientists-from-both-the-political-left-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e46/richard-dawkins-115_1920s_in-the-1920s-and-1930s-scientists-from-b_1584909.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e46/richard-dawkins-115_1920s_in-the-1920s-and-1930s-scientists-from-b_1584909.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e46/richard-dawkins-115_1920s_in-the-1920s-and-1930s-scientists-from-b_1584909.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In the 1920s and 1930s, scientists from both the political left and right would not have found the idea of…” — Richard Dawkins", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Richard Dawkins", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In the 1920s and 1930s, scientists...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/in-the-1920s-and-1930s-scientists-from-both-the-political-left-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/in-the-1920s-and-1930s-scientists-from-both-the-political-left-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```