Peter Singer. Should We Talk About Race and Intelligence? Peter Singer.

Should We Talk About Race and Intelligence? Project Syndicate. November 2007.
The intersection of genetics and intelligence is an intellectual minefield. Harvards former president Larry Summers touched off one explosion in 2005 when he tentatively suggested a genetic explanation for the difficulty his university had in recruiting female professors in math and physics. He did not suggest that men are on average more gifted in these fields than women! "ut that there is some reason for "elieving that men are more li#ely than women to "e found at "oth the upper and lower ends of the spectrum of a"ilities in these fields $ and Harvard! of course! only appoints people at the extreme upper end.% &ow one of the most eminent scientists of our time has "lundered much more clumsily into the same minefield! with predicta"le results. 'n (cto"er! )ames *atson! who shared the +,-2 &o"el .ri/e for his description of the structure of 0&1! was in London to promote his memoir! 1void 2oring .eople and (ther Lessons 3rom a Life in Science . 'n an interview in the London Sunday Times ! he was 4uoted as saying that he was gloomy a"out 1fricas prospects! "ecause 51ll our social policies are "ased on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours $ whereas all the testing says not really.6 He added that he hoped everyone was e4ual! "ut that 5people who have to deal with "lac# employees find this is not true.6 *atson tried to clarify his remar#s in a su"se4uent interview in The 'ndependent! saying7 The overwhelming desire of society today is to assume that e4ual powers of reason are a universal heritage of humanity. 't may well "e. 2ut simply wanting this to "e the case is not enough. This is not science. To 4uestion this is not to give in to racism. *atson is right that 4uestioning this assumption is not! in itself! racist. 1 racist has a negative attitude to people of a particular race. There is nothing racist a"out trying to learn what the facts are. *hat does raise the suspicion of racism! however! is propagating a negative view of the facts when that view lac#s a solid scientific foundation. That is precisely what *atson has now admitted he did. 8eturning to &ew 9or#! he apologi/ed to those who had drawn from his remar#s the implication that 1frica is somehow 5genetically inferior.6 This was not! he claimed! what he meant! and more importantly! 5there is no scientific "asis for such a "elief.6 The retraction came too late. The Science :useum cancelled a lecture *atson was to give a"out his "oo# and his career. ;nder pressure from the "oard! *atson resigned his position as chancellor of <old Spring Har"or La"oratory! an institution that under his leadership has "ecome one of the worlds leading research and educational institutions in the "iological sciences. 8oc#efeller ;niversity also cancelled a lecture that *atson had "een scheduled to give.

.utting aside the specific claims that *atson made in his Sunday Times interview! a genuinely difficult 4uestion remains7 should scientists investigate the possi"ility of a lin# "etween race and intelligence= 's the 4uestion too sensitive for science to explore= 's the danger of misuse of the results of such research too great= The dangers are o"vious enough. 8acist stereotyping harms the prospects of many non> whites! especially those of 1frican descent. The concepts of intelligence and of race are less clear>cut than we often assume them to "e. Scientists need to handle them carefully if they are to pose meaningful 4uestions a"out the point at which these two concepts intersect. Some say that the tools we use to measure intelligence $ '? tests $ are themselves culturally "iased. The late Stephen ). @ould! author of The :ismeasure of :an! dismissed cross>cultural research using '? tests as an attempt "y white men to show their superiority. 2ut if that was so! the attempt has "ac#fired! "ecause Aast 1sians tend to score "etter than people of Auropean descent. (n the other hand! it clearly is possi"le that differences in '? scores "etween people living in impoverished countries and people living in affluent countries are affected "y factors li#e education and nutrition in early childhood. <ontrolling for these varia"les is difficult. 9et to say that we should not carry out research in this area is e4uivalent to saying that we should reBect open>minded investigation of the causes of ine4ualities in income! education! and health "etween people of different racial or ethnic groups. *hen faced with such maBor social pro"lems! a preference for ignorance over #nowledge is difficult to defend. 'n explaining why it was canceling *atsons lecture! the Science :useum said that his remar#s had gone 5"eyond the point of accepta"le de"ate.6 't then struc# a reasona"le "alance "y inviting people who want to learn more a"out 5the science "ehind genetics and race6 to attend other upcoming events at the museum. The spea#ers at these events will presuma"ly have "etter credentials than *atson to discuss topics li#e race and intelligence. 'f so! one can only hope that watching how *atson "lew himself up will not discourage them from venturing into the minefield. 3inally! no matter what the facts on race and intelligence turn out to "e! they will not Bustify racial hatred! nor disrespect for people of a different race. *hether some are of higher or lower intelligence has nothing to do with that.