Unformatted Attachment Preview
Save and Submit
QUESTION 1
1.
Glymour argues that the factor-analytic studies Hernstein and Murray use in The Bell Curve to support their claim
that general intelligence is responsible for variance on IQ tests are flawed because there is no proof of the
correctness of any factor-analytic procedure in identifying causal structures.
True
False
4 points
QUESTION 2
1.
According to Lucius T. Outlaw, a review of the history of the concept of race demonstrates that the concept provides
access to which of the following characteristics of humankind:
a. self-evident characeristics
b. obvious characteristics
c. ontologically given characteristics
d. all of the above
e. none of the above
f. a&c
4 points
QUESTION 3
1.
Glymour rejects Hernstein and Murray's conclusion that public education cannot help the United States to overcome
its problems.
True
False
4 points
QUESTION 4
1.
Outlaw argues that the concept of race has its origins in scientific discovery.
True
False
4 points
QUESTION 5
1.
Outlaw argues that the concept of "race" in the late twentieth century referred to a group of persons who are
genetically homogenous.
True
False
4 points
QUESTION 6
1.
Glymour points out that social statistics produced and used a variety of procedures for searching for appropriate
hypotheses, and for testing the reliability of those procedures.
True
False
4 points
QUESTION 7
1.
Since there is no scientific basis for race, Outlaw argues, comparative analyses of racial characteristics, such as
intelligence, are insignificant for social policy.
True
False
4 points
QUESTION 8
1.
Glymour argues that the methods of searching for causal hypotheses that have developed in social statistics are
reliable in any set of conditions that may arise in the domains to which they are applied.
True
False
BY STEPHEN JAY GOULD IN
NORTON PAPERBACK
EVER SINCE DARWIN
Reflections in Natural History
THE PANDA'S THUMB
More Reflections in Natural History
THE MISMEASURE OF MAN
Revised and Expanded
HEN'S TEETH AND HORSE'S TOES
Further Reflections
in Natural History
THE FLAMINGO'S SMILE
Reflections in Natural History
AN URCHIN IN THE STORM
Essays about Books and Ideas
ILLUMINATIONS
A Bestiary (with R. W. Purcell)
WONDERFUL LIFE
The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History
BULLY FOR BRONTOSAURUS
Reflections
in Natural History
FINDERS, KEEPERS
Treasures amd Oddities of Natural History
Collectors from Peter the Great to Louis Agassiz
(with R. W. Purcell)
THE MISMEASURE OF MAN
T o the m e m o r y o f G r a m m y and Papa Joe,
who came, struggled, and prospered,
Mr. G o d d a r d notwithstanding.
Contents
Acknowledgments
15
Introduction to the Revised and Expanded
Edition:
Thoughts
at
Age
Fifteen
19
T h e f r a m e of The Mismeasure of Man, 1 9
W h y r e v i s e The Mismeasure of Man a f t e r fifteen y e a r s ? , 26
R e a s o n s , history a n d revision of The Mismeasure of Man, 36
2. American Polygeny and Craniometry before
Darwin: Blacks andlndians as Separate,
Inferior Species
Cfolj
A shared context of culture,
63
P r e e v o l u t i o n a r y styles o f scientific r a c i s m : m o n o g e n i s m a n d
polygenism,
71
Louis A g a s s i z — A m e r i c a ' s theorist of polygeny,
74
Samuel George Morton—empiricist of polygeny,
82
The case of Indian inferiority: C r a n i a A m e r i c a n a
The case of the Egyptian catacombs: C r a n i a A e g y p t i a c a
The case of the shifting black mean
The final tabulation of 1849
62
CONTENTS
IO
Conclusions
T h e A m e r i c a n s c h o o l a n d slavery,
101
3. Measuring Heads: Paul Br oca and the Heyday
ofCraniology
/ -4f^"yi
T h e allure of numbers,
105
Introduction
Francis
Galton—apostle
of quantification
A curtain-raiser with a moral: numbers do not guarantee truth
M a s t e r s o f c r a n i o m e t r y : P a u l B r o c a a n d his s c h o o l ,
The great circle route
Selecting
characters
Averting
anomalies
BIG-BRAINED GERMANS
SMALL-BRAINED MEN OF EMINENCE
LARGE-BRAINED CRIMINALS
FLAWS IN A PATTERN OF INCREASE THROUGH TIME
Front and back
THE CRANIAL INDEX
THE CASE OF THE FORAMEN MAGNUM
Women's brains
Postscript,
140
4. Measuring Bodies:
Two Case Studies on the
Apishness of Undesirables
T h e a p e i n all o f us: r e c a p i t u l a t i o n ,
j^C^
142
T h e ape in some of us: criminal anthropology,
151
Atavism and criminality
Animals and savages as born criminals
The stigmata: anatomical, physiological, and social
Lombroso's retreat
The influence of criminal anthropology
Coda
Epilogue,
173
114
CONTENTS
II
5. The Hereditarian Theory of IQ: An American
ij6
Invention
A l f r e d Binet and the original purposes of the Binet
scale,
176
Binet flirts with craniometry
Binet's scale and the birth of IQ
The dismantling of Binet's intentions in America
H . H . G o d d a r d a n d the m e n a c e o f t h e f e e b l e - m i n d e d ,
18&
Intelligence as a Mendelian gene
GODDARD IDENTIFIES THE MORON
A UNILINEAR SCALE OF INTELLIGENCE
BREAKING THE SCALE INTO MENDELIAN COMPARTMENTS
THE PROPER CARE AND FEEDING (BUT NOT BREEDING) OF
MORONS
Preventing the immigration and propagation of morons
Goddard recants
L e w i s M . T e r m a n a n d the mass m a r k e t i n g o f i n n a t e I Q ,
204
Mass testing and the Stanford-Binet
Terman's technocracy of innateness
Fossil IQ's of past geniuses
Terman on group differences
Terman recants
R. M. Yerkes and the A r m y Mental Tests: IQ comes of
age,
222
Psychology's great leap forward
Results of the army tests
A critique of the Army Mental Tests
THE CONTENT OF THE TESTS
INADEQUATE CONDITIONS
DUBIOUS AND PERVERSE PROCEEDINGS: A PERSONAL TESTIMONY
FINAGLING THE SUMMARY STATISTICS: THE PROBLEM OF ZERO
VALUES
FINAGLING THE SUMMARY STATISTICS: GETTING AROUND
OBVIOUS CORRELATIONS WITH ENVIRONMENT
Political impact of the army data
CAN DEMOCRACY SURVIVE AN AVERAGE MENTAL AGE OF
THIRTEEN?
CONTENTS
THE ARMY TESTS AND AGITATION TO RESTRICT IMMIGRATION I
BRIGHAM'S MONOGRAPH ON AMERICAN INTELLIGENCE
THE TRIUMPH OF RESTRICTION ON IMMIGRATION
BRIGHAM RECANTS
The Real Error of Cyril Burt: Factor Analysis
and
the
Reification
T h e case o f Sir C y r i l B u r t ,
of
Intelligence
264
C o r r e l a t i o n , c a u s e , a n d f a c t o r analysis,
269
Correlation and cause
Correlation in more than two dimensions
Factor analysis and its goals
The error of reification
Rotation and the nonnecessity of principal components
Charles S p e a r m a n and general intelligence,
286
The two-factor theory
The method of tetrad differences
Spearman's g and the great instauration of psychology
Spearman's g and the theoretical justification of IQ
Spearman's reification of g
Spearman on the inheritance of g
Cyril B u r t a n d the hereditarian synthesis,
The source
of Burt's
303
uncompromising hereditarianism
BURT'S INITIAL "PROOF" OF INNATENESS
LATER ARGUMENTS
BURT'S BLINDNESS
BURT'S POLITICAL USE OF INNATENESS
Burt's extension of Spearman's theory
Burt on the reification of factors
Burt and the political uses of g
L . L . T h u r s t o n e a n d the v e c t o r s o f m i n d ,
Thurstone's critique and reconstruction
The egalitarian
interpretation
Spearman and Burt react
of PMA's
326
2 64
CONTENTS
13
Oblique axes and second-order g
Thurstone on the uses of factor analysis
Epilogue: A r t h u r Jensen and the resurrection of
S p e a r m a n ' s g,
A final t h o u g h t ,
347
350
7 . A Positive Conclusion
357
D e b u n k i n g a s positive s c i e n c e ,
Learning by debunking,
351
352
Biology and h u m a n nature,
354
365
Epilogue
Critique
The Bell Curvv.
of
The
Bell
Curve
367
Disingenuoumess
of content
Disingenuousness^of
Disingenuousness
argument
ofprogram
G h o s t s o f B e l l C u r v e s pasX
379
Three Centuries' Perspectives on Race
and Racism
\.
A g e - o l d fallacies o f t h i n k i n g a n d s t i n k i n g ^
Racial g e o m e t r y ,
367
39
1
391
401
T h e m o r a l state o f T a h i t i — a n d o f D a r w i n ,
Bibliography
425
Index
433
Acknowledgments
GENES MAY BE SELFISH in a l i m i t e d m e t a p h o r i c a l s e n s e , b u t t h e r e c a n
b e n o g e n e f o r selfishness w h e n I h a v e s o m a n y f r i e n d s a n d colleagues willing to offer their aid. I thank Ashley M o n t a g u , not only
f o r his specific s u g g e s t i o n s , b u t also f o r l e a d i n g t h e f i g h t a g a i n s t
scientific r a c i s m f o r s o m a n y y e a r s w i t h o u t b e c o m i n g c y n i c a l a b o u t
h u m a n possibilities. S e v e r a l c o l l e a g u e s w h o h a v e w r i t t e n , o r a r e
w r i t i n g , t h e i r o w n b o o k s o n b i o l o g i c a l d e t e r m i n i s m willingly s h a r e d
t h e i r i n f o r m a t i o n a n d e v e n let m e u s e t h e i r o w n f i n d i n g s , s o m e times
before
they
could
publish
them
themselves:
G.
Allen,
A. Chase, S. Chorover, L. Kamin, R. Lewontin. Others heard of
m y e f f o r t s a n d , w i t h o u t solicitation, s e n t m a t e r i a l a n d s u g g e s t i o n s
that enriched the b o o k greatly: M. Leitenberg, S. Selden. L. Meszoly p r e p a r e d t h e o r i g i n a l illustrations i n C h a p t e r 6 . P e r h a p s K r o p o t k i n w a s r i g h t a f t e r all; I shall r e m a i n w i t h t h e h o p e f u l .
A note on references: In place of conventional footnotes, I h a v e
u s e d t h e s y s t e m o f r e f e r e n c e s u n i v e r s a l l y f o u n d i n scientific literat u r e — n a m e of a u t h o r a n d year of publication, cited in parentneses
a f t e r t h e r e l e v a n t p a s s a g e o f text. ( I t e m s a r e t h e n listed b y a u t h o r
and by year for any o n e author in the bibliography.) I know that
m a n y r e a d e r s m a y b e d i s c o n c e r t e d a t f i r s t ; t h e t e x t will s e e m clutt e r e d t o m a n y . Y e t , I a m c o n f i d e n t t h a t e v e r y o n e will b e g i n t o " r e a d
t h r o u g h " t h e citations a f t e r a f e w p a g e s o f e x p e r i e n c e , a n d will
then discover that they d o not interrupt the f l o w o f prose. T o m e ,
t h e a d v a n t a g e s o f this s y s t e m f a r o u t w e i g h a n y aesthetic d e f i c i t —
no m o r e flipping back and forth from text to end-notes (no p u b lisher will set t h e m all a t t h e b o t t o m o f t h e p a g e a n y m o r e ) , o n l y t o
f i n d that a t a n t a l i z i n g little n u m b e r y i e l d s n o j u i c y tidbit o f subsid-
i6
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
iary i n f o r m a t i o n , b u t o n l y a d r y b i b l i o g r a p h i c c i t a t i o n ; * i m m e d i a t e
access t o t h e t w o essential bits o f i n f o r m a t i o n f o r a n y historical
i n q u i r y — w h o a n d w h e n . I b e l i e v e that this s y s t e m o f r e f e r e n c i n g i s
o n e o f the f e w p o t e n t i a l c o n t r i b u t i o n s that scientists, n o r m a l l y n o t
a v e r y literate lot, m i g h t s u p p l y t o o t h e r f i e l d s o f w r i t t e n s c h o l a r ship.
A n o t e on title: I h o p e that an a p p a r e n t l y sexist title will be
t a k e n in t h e i n t e n d e d s p i r i t — n o t o n l y as a play on P r o t a g o r a s '
f a m o u s a p h o r i s m , b u t also a s a c o m m e n t a r y o n t h e p r o c e d u r e s o f
biological determinists discussed in the book. T h e y did, i n d e e d ,
s t u d y " m a n " (that is, w h i t e E u r o p e a n m a l e s ) , r e g a r d i n g this g r o u p
as a s t a n d a r d a n d e v e r y b o d y else as s o m e t h i n g to be m e a s u r e d
u n f a v o r a b l y a g a i n s t it. T h a t t h e y m i s m e a s u r e d " m a n " u n d e r s c o r e s
t h e d o u b l e fallacy.
* T h e relatively small number of truly informational footnotes can then be placed
at the bottom of the page, where they belong.
T H E MISMEASURE OF MAN
Introduction to the Revised
and Expanded Edition
Thoughts at Age Fifteen
The frame of The Mismeasure of Man
T h e o r i g i n a l title f o r The Mismeasure of Man w o u l d h a v e h o n o r e d
m y h e r o C h a r l e s D a r w i n f o r t h e w o n d e r f u l l y incisive s t a t e m e n t that
h e m a d e a b o u t b i o l o g i c a l d e t e r m i n i s m t o c l i m a x his d e n u n c i a t i o n o f
slavery in the Voyage of the Beagle. I w a n t e d to call this b o o k Great Is
Our Sin—from D a r w i n ' s line, cited as an e p i g r a p h on my title p a g e :
" I f t h e m i s e r y o f o u r p o o r b e c a u s e d n o t b y the laws o f n a t u r e , b u t
b y o u r institutions, g r e a t i s o u r sin."
I d i d n o t follow my initial i n c l i n a t i o n — a n d I am s u r e that I
m a d e t h e r i g h t d e c i s i o n — b e c a u s e I k n e w d a m n e d well that m y w o r k
w o u l d t h e n b e m i s s h e l v e d t o o b l i v i o n i n t h e r e l i g i o n section o f m a n y
b o o k s t o r e s (as my v o l u m e of e v o l u t i o n a r y essays, The Flamingo's
Smile, e n d e d up in t h e o r n i t h o l o g y division of a g r e a t B o s t o n institution that shall r e m a i n n a m e l e s s ) . T h i n g s c a n always be w o r s e . I o n c e ,
i n a n e q u a l l y p r e s t i g i o u s B o s t o n e m p o r i u m , f o u n d a c o p y o f that
1960s u n d e r g r a d u a t e m a n i f e s t o The Student as Nigger on a s h e l f
marked "Race Relations." My friend Harry K e m e l m a n , author of
t h e m a r v e l o u s m y s t e r y series f e a t u r i n g t h e o l o g i c a l sleuth D a v i d
S m a l l , told me that his first e n t r y in t h e series—Friday the Rabbi. . .—
o n c e a p p e a r e d in a list of c h i l d r e n ' s titles as " F r e d d y the Rabbit. . . ."
B u t tables d o t u r n occasionally. M y b u d d y A l a n D e r s h o w i t z told
me that a w o m a n successfully a c q u i r e d his Chutzpah by telling the
20
THE
MISMEASURE
OF
MAN
b o o k s t o r e c l e r k : "I w a n t a c o p y of that b o o k w h o s e title I can't p r o n o u n c e b y t h e a u t h o r w h o s e n a m e I can't r e m e m b e r . "
I e v e n t u a l l y d e c i d e d on The Mismeasure of Man b e c a u s e t h e ess e n c e o f m y b o o k , i n a p a r a d o x i c a l w a y that c o n f e r r e d s t a y i n g p o w e r
o v e r t h e s e fifteen y e a r s since initial p u b l i c a t i o n , lies in its limitation
of s c o p e . The Mismeasure of Man is n o t f u n d a m e n t a l l y a b o u t the
g e n e r a l m o r a l t u r p i t u d e o f fallacious biological a r g u m e n t s i n social
settings (as m y o r i g i n a l a n d b r o a d e r title f r o m D a r w i n w o u l d h a v e
i m p l i e d ) . I t i s n o t e v e n a b o u t t h e full r a n g e o f p h o n y a r g u m e n t s f o r
t h e g e n e t i c basis of h u m a n inequalities. The Mismeasure of Man treats
one particular form of quantified c l a i m a b o u t t h e r a n k i n g of h u m a n
g r o u p s : t h e a r g u m e n t that i n t e l l i g e n c e c a n b e m e a n i n g f u l l y a b s t r a c t e d as a single n u m b e r c a p a b l e of r a n k i n g all p e o p l e on a l i n e a r
scale o f intrinsic a n d u n a l t e r a b l e m e n t a l w o r t h . F o r t u n a t e l y — a n d I
m a d e m y d e c i s i o n o n p u r p o s e — t h i s limited subject e m b o d i e s t h e
d e e p e s t ( a n d m o s t c o m m o n ) p h i l o s o p h i c a l e r r o r , w i t h the m o s t f u n d a m e n t a l a n d f a r - r a n g i n g social i m p a c t , f o r the e n t i r e t r o u b l i n g
subject o f n a t u r e a n d n u r t u r e , o r t h e g e n e t i c c o n t r i b u t i o n t o h u m a n
social o r g a n i z a t i o n .
If I h a v e l e a r n e d o n e t h i n g as a m o n t h l y essayist f o r m o r e t h a n
t w e n t y y e a r s , I h a v e c o m e t o u n d e r s t a n d the p o w e r o f t r e a t i n g g e n eralities by p a r t i c u l a r s . It is no use w r i t i n g a b o o k on " t h e m e a n i n g of
l i f e " ( t h o u g h w e all l o n g t o k n o w t h e a n s w e r s t o s u c h g r e a t q u e s t i o n s ,
w h i l e r i g h t l y s u s p e c t i n g that t r u e solutions d o n o t exist!). B u t a n
essay on " t h e m e a n i n g of 0.400 h i t t i n g in b a s e b a l l " can r e a c h a
g e n u i n e conclusion with surprisingly extensive relevance to such
b r o a d topics a s t h e n a t u r e o f t r e n d s , the m e a n i n g o f e x c e l l e n c e , a n d
e v e n (believe i t n o r not) t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n o f n a t u r a l reality. Y o u h a v e
t o s n e a k u p o n g e n e r a l i t i e s , n o t assault t h e m h e a d - o n . O n e o f m y
f a v o r i t e lines, f r o m G . K . C h e s t e r t o n , p r o c l a i m s : " A r t i s limitation;
the e s s e n c e o f e v e r y p i c t u r e i s t h e f r a m e . "
( M y c h o s e n title d i d g e t m e i n t o s o m e t r o u b l e , b u t I m a k e n o
a p o l o g i e s a n d r e l i s h e d all t h e discussion. The Mismeasure of Man is
a n i n t e n d e d d o u b l e e n t e n d r e , n o t a vestige o f u n t h i n k i n g s e x i s m .
M y title p a r o d i e s P r o t a g o r a s ' s f a m o u s a p h o r i s m a b o u t all p e o p l e ,
a n d also n o t e s t h e reality of a truly sexist past that r e g a r d e d m a l e s as
standards for humanity and therefore tended to mismeasure men,
w h i l e i g n o r i n g w o m e n . I stated this r a t i o n a l e u p f r o n t , i n t h e o r i g i nal p r e f a c e — s o I c o u l d always use u n t h i n k i n g criticism as a test to
REVISED
AND
EXPANDED
EDITION
21
see w h o liked t o m o u t h o f f w i t h o u t r e a d i n g the b o o k f i r s t — l i k e M r .
D o l e criticizing t h e v i o l e n c e i n m o v i e s h e has n e v e r s e e n , a n d w o u l d
n o t e v e n d e i g n t o w a t c h . [ I d o n ' t , o f c o u r s e , m i n d criticism o f the
title b a s e d o n d i s a g r e e m e n t with m y stated rationale.] I n a n y case,
m y title a l l o w e d m y c o l l e a g u e C a r o l T a v r i s t o p a r o d y m y p a r o d y a s
a n a m e f o r h e r m a r v e l o u s b o o k The Mismeasure of Woman—and I am
at least m i g h t i l y g l a d f o r that.*)
The Mismeasure of Man r e s i d e s in a t h r e e f o l d f r a m e , a set of limitations that a l l o w e d m e t o c o n t a i n o n e o f t h e largest o f all intellectual
subjects w i t h i n a c o h e r e n t a n d r e a s o n a b l e c o m p r e h e n s i v e n a r r a t i v e
a n d analysis.
1. I restricted my t r e a t m e n t of biological d e t e r m i n i s m to the
m o s t historically p r o m i n e n t (and r e v e a l i n g l y fallacious) f o r m o f
quantified a r g u m e n t about mentality: the theory of a measurable,
g e n e t i c a l l y f i x e d , a n d u n i t a r y i n t e l l i g e n c e . A s I w r o t e i n the I n t r o d u c t i o n to link the p s e u d o s c i e n t i f i c claim with its social utility:
This book, then, is about the abstraction of intelligence as a single entity, its
location within the brain, its quantification as one number for each individual, and the use of these numbers to rank people in a single series of
worthiness, invariably to find that oppressed and disadvantaged g r o u p s —
races, classes, or sexes—are innately inferior and deserve their status. In
short, this book is about the Mismeasure of Man.
T h i s p a r t of the f r a m e also e x p l a i n s w h a t I left o u t . I h a v e , f o r
e x a m p l e , o f t e n b e e n a s k e d w h y I o m i t t e d so influential a m o v e m e n t
as p h r e n o l o g y in my account of quantified theories for mental funct i o n i n g . B u t p h r e n o l o g y i s p h i l o s o p h i c a l l y c o n t r a r y t o t h e subject o f
*A linguist friend did correctly anticipate the one curious problem that my title
would entail. For some reason (and I have done this mysel ...