Many human attributes, including cognitive abilities, clearly have a hereditary component, and identification of the genes responsible will raise the possibility of effective intervention. In Fukuyama's view, however, both arguments are collapsing. Its current low reputation rests on two criticisms: that it is scientifically unfounded, and that it is associated with a history of governmental coercion. The third and perhaps most threatening challenge is eugenics. He also notes that the pharmaceutical industry has a strong vested interest in promoting this view Novartis, for instance, is said to have made undisclosed donations of almost $900,000 to one leading ADHD advocacy group. Fukuyama does not dispute that psychiatric drugs can bring great benefits, but he is concerned over the increasing 'medicalization' of human personality. But evolution did not design boys to sit still in class, and while some may be too restless for their own good, the recognition of ADHD as a medical condition can also be regarded as social engineering-a response to the demands of busy parents and overworked teachers. Ritalin, for instance, is often prescribed for children-mainly boys-who meet the diagnostic criteria for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Drugs such as Prozac and Ritalin have generated much public debate, mainly because they are widely used to treat conditions whose diagnostic boundaries are not well defined. The first, clearly foreseen by Huxley, is the increasing use of mind-altering chemicals. Fukuyama believes that neuroscience in particular presents several imminent challenges to our traditional conception of what it means to be human.
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