Abstract
Some prominent scientists and philosophers have stated openly that moral and political considerations should influence whether we accept or promulgate scientific theories. This widespread view has significantly influenced the development, and public perception, of intelligence research. Theories related to group differences in intelligence are often rejected a priori on explicitly moral grounds. Thus the idea, frequently expressed by commentators on science, that science is “self-correcting”—that hypotheses are simply abandoned when they are undermined by empirical evidence—may not be correct in all contexts. In this paper, documentation spanning from the early 1970s to the present is collected, which reveals the influence of scientists’ moral and political commitments on the study of intelligence. It is suggested that misrepresenting findings in science to achieve desirable social goals will ultimately harm both science and society.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
According to Sotion in Succession of Philosophers, Anaxagoras “was brought to trial for impiety by Cleon because he said that the sun was a fiery lump” (Barnes 2001, 187).
Kitcher (1997) repeats this argument in a paper published in Noûs.
Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative criteria, Haggbloom et al. (2002) rank Jensen the forty-seventh most eminent psychologist of the 20th century, just behind Stanley Milgram. Since Haggbloom et al.’s criteria included “survey response frequency...[,] National Academy of Sciences membership, election as American Psychological Association (APA) president or receipt of the APA Distinguished Scientific Contributions Award,” controlling for organized persecution of Jensen would lead him to be ranked much higher. In 2006, Jensen received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Intelligence Research (an international organization, as its name indicates).
Sternberg and Kaufman continue: “We do not know of anyone who seriously questions this assertion. Even Gardner (2006), well-known for his theory of multiple intelligences, has agreed that one could speak of a \(g\)-factor that encompasses some (but not all) of his proposed intelligences and that has wide-ranging predictive value.”
For example, Jensen was pilloried for claiming in 1969 that early intervention programs to boost IQ and academic achievement—such as “Head Start”—would not have lasting effects on their beneficiaries (e.g., by Feldman and Lewontin 1975; Gould 1996, 7; Hacker 1992, 35; Longino 1990, 166; Montagu 1997, 161). In 2012, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services quietly released a Congress-mandated report showing that the effects of Head Start participation disappear by third grade: “There is clear evidence that Head Start had a statistically significant impact on children’s language and literacy development while children were in Head Start. These effects, albeit modest in magnitude, were found for both age cohorts during their first year of admission to the Head Start program. However, these early effects dissipated in elementary school, with only a single impact remaining at the end of 3rd grade for children in each age cohort: a favorable impact for the 4-year-old cohort (ECLS-K Reading) and an unfavorable impact for the 3-year-old cohort (grade promotion)” (Puma et al. 2012, xxi).
Gardner does not say how multiple intelligences were being measured. As noted, assessments to test multiple intelligences “have not been associated with high levels of psychometric validity” (Kaufman et al. 2013, 814), but that is beside the point.
Gardner tells the same story in Gardner (2009).
Janet Monge, Keeper of Physical Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania Museum where the Morton collection has been held since the early 1960s, says: “We had never hosted Gould...” (personal communication to Sesardic, reported in Sesardic 2005, 41).
Although Lewis et al. (2011) were forced to use circumspect language when describing Gould’s transgressions in their PLoS Biology paper, one of the authors of the study—anthropologist Ralph Holloway—was quoted in The New York Times as follows: “I just didn’t trust Gould....I had the feeling that his ideological stance was supreme. When the 1996 version of ‘The Mismeasure of Man’ came and he never even bothered to mention Michael’s study, I just felt he was a charlatan” (Wade 2011).
E.g., see the discussion of Head Start in note 7 (above).
References
Aristotle. (1998). Politics (C. D. C. Reeve, Trans.). Indianapolis, IN: Hackett.
Barber, A. (2013). Science’s immunity to moral refuation. Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 91(4), 633–653. doi:10.1080/00048402.2013.768279.
Barnes, J. (2001). Early greek philosophy (2nd ed.). London: Penguin Books.
[Bible, Hebrew] Tanach. (1996). (2nd ed., Scherman, N., Ed.) New York: Mesorah.
Block, N. J., & Dworkin, G. (1974). IQ, heritability and inequality, part 2. Philosophy & Public Affairs, 4(1), 40–99.
Block, N. J., & Dworkin, G. (Eds.). (1976). The IQ controversy: Critical readings. New York: Pantheon Books.
Carroll, J. B. (1993). Human cognitive abilities: A survey of factor-analytic studies. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Chomsky, N. (1976). The fallacy of Richard Herrnstein’s IQ. In N. J. Block & G. Dworkin (Eds.), The IQ controversy: Critical readings (pp. 285–298). New York: Pantheon Books.
Chomsky, N. (1988). Language and problems of knowledge: The Managua lectures. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Davis, B. D. (1978). The moralistic fallacy. Nature, 272(5652), 390. doi:10.1038/272390a0.
Dennett, D. C. (2003). Freedom evolves. New York: Viking.
Dennett, D. C. (2006a). Breaking the spell: Religion as a natural phenomenon. New York: Viking.
Dennett, D. C. (2006b). Edge: The reality club. An edge discussion of BEYOND BELIEF: Science, religion, reason and survival. Edge. Retrieved from http://www.edge.org/discourse/bb.html#dennett.
Diamond, J. (1997). Guns, germs, and steel: The fates of human societies. New York: Norton.
Edwards, A. W. F. (2003). Human genetic diversity: Lewontin’s fallacy. BioEssays, 25(8), 798–801. doi:10.1002/bies.10315.
Feldman, M. W., & Lewontin, R. C. (1975). The heritability hang-up. Science, 190(4220), 1163–1168. doi:10.1126/science.1198102.
Flynn, J. R. (1999). Searching for justice: The discovery of IQ gains over time. American Psychologist, 54(1), 5–20. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.54.1.5.
Flynn, J. R. (2012). Are we getting smarter? Rising IQ in the twenty-first century. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. New York: Basic Books.
Gardner, H. (2001). The ethical responsibilities of professionals. The good project: Ideas and tools for a good life. Retrieved from http://thegoodproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/GoodWork2.pdf.
Gardner, H. (2006). Multiple intelligences: New horizons in theory and practice. New York: Basic Books.
Gardner, H. (2009). Intelligence: It’s not just IQ. New York: Rockefeller University. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP4CBpLNEyE&feature=related.
Gardner, H., Feldman, D. H., & Krechevsky, M. (Eds.). (1998). Project spectrum: Early learning activities. New York: Teachers College Press.
Gottfredson, L. S. (2005). Suppressing intelligence research: Hurting those we intend to help. In R. H. Wright & N. A. Cummings (Eds.), Destructive trends in mental health: The well-intentioned path to harm (pp. 155–186). New York: Routledge.
Gottfredson, L. S. (2010). Lessons in academic freedom as lived experience. Personality and Individual Differences, 49(4), 272–280. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2010.01.001.
Gottfredson, L. S. (2013). Resolute ignorance on race and Rushton. Personality and Individual Differences, 55(3), 218–223. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2012.10.021.
Gould, S. J. (1981). The mismeasure of man. New York: Norton.
Gould, S. J. (1994). Curveball. The New Yorker, pp. 139–148.
Gould, S. J. (1996). The mismeasure of man (Rev ed.). New York: Norton.
Hacker, A. (1992). Two nations: Black and white, separate, hostile, unequal. New York: Scribner.
Haggbloom, S. J., Warnick, R., Warnick, J. E., Jones, V. K., Yarbrough, G. L., Russell, T., et al. (2002). The 100 most eminent psychologists of the 20th century. Review of General Psychology, 6(2), 139–152. doi:10.1037//1089-2680.6.2.139.
Herrnstein, R. J., & Murray, C. (1994). The bell curve: Intelligence and class structure in American life. New York: Free Press.
Holcomb, H. R, I. I. I. (2005). Buller does to evolutionary psychology what Kitcher did to sociobiology. Evolutionary Psychology, 3, 392–401.
Hunt, E. (2011). Human intelligence. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Jensen, A. R. (1969). How much can we boost IQ and scholastic achievement? Harvard Educational Review, 39(1), 1–123.
Jensen, A. R. (1980). Bias in mental testing. New York: Free Press.
Jensen, A. R. (1998). The g factor: The science of mental ability. Westport, CT: Praeger.
Kamin, L. J. (1974). The science and politics of I.Q. Potomac, MD: Erlbaum.
Kanazawa, S. (2008). Temperature and evolutionary novelty as forces behind the evolution of general intelligence. Intelligence, 36(2), 99–108. doi:10.1016/j.intell.2007.04.001.
Kaufman, J. C., Kaufman, S. B., & Plucker, J. A. (2013). Contemporary theories of intelligence. In D. Reisberg (Ed.), The oxford handbook of cognitive psychology (pp. 811–822). New York: Oxford University Press.
Kitcher, P. (1985). Vaulting ambition: Sociobiology and the quest for human nature. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Kitcher, P. (1997). An argument about free inquiry. Noûs, 31(3), 279–306. doi:10.1111/0029-4624.00047.
Kitcher, P. (2004). Evolutionary theory and the social uses of biology. Biology & Philosophy, 19(1), 1–15. doi:10.1023/B:BIPH.0000013273.58226.ec.
Krauss, L. M. (2012). A universe from nothing: Why there is something rather than nothing. New York: Free Press.
Krebs, J. (2010). We might err, but science is self-correcting (p. 19). London: The Times 19.
Lane, C. (1994). The tainted sources of ‘The bell curve’. The New York Review of Books, 41, 14–19.
Lewis, J. E., DeGusta, D., Meyer, M. R., Monge, J. M., Mann, A. E., & Holloway, R. L. (2011). The mismeasure of science: Stephen Jay Gould versus Samuel George Morton on skulls and bias. PLoS Biology, 9(6), e1001071. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001071.
Lewontin, R. C. (1972). The apportionment of human diversity. Evolutionary Biology, 6, 381–398. doi:10.1007/978-1-4684-9063-3_14.
Lewontin, R. C. (1974). The genetic basis of evolutionary change. New York: Columbia University Press.
Lewontin, R. C. (2000). The triple helix: Gene, organism, and environment. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Longino, H. E. (1990). Science as social knowledge: Values and objectivity in scientific inquiry. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Luzzatto, M. C. (1998). [Derech Hashem] The way of God (6th ed., A. Kaplan, Trans.). Jerusalem: Feldheim. (Original work published 1735).
Lynn, R. (2006). Race differences in intelligence: An evolutionary analysis. Augusta, GA: Washington Summit.
Mackintosh, N. J. (2011). IQ and human intelligence (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
[Majjhima Nikāya] The middle length discourses of the Buddha: A new translation of the Majjhima Nikāya. (1995). (Bhikkhu Bodhi, Trans., Bhikkhu Nanamoli, Ed.). Boston: Wisdom Publications.
[Manusmirti] The laws of Manu. (1986). (F. M. Müller, Trans.). Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Michael, J. S. (1988). A new look at Morton’s craniological research. Current Anthropology, 29(2), 349–354. doi:10.1086/203646.
Montagu, A. (1997). Man’s most dangerous myth: The fallacy of race (6th ed.). Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.
Newby, R. G., & Newby, D. E. (1995). The bell curve: Another chapter in the continuing political economy of racism. American Behavioral Scientist, 39(1), 12–24. doi:10.1177/0002764295039001003.
Plato. (1997a). Apology (G. M. A. Grube, Trans.). In J. M. Cooper (Ed.), Plato: Complete works (pp. 17–36). Indianapolis, IN: Hackett.
Plato. (1997b). Euthyphro (G. M. A. Grube, Trans.). In J. M. Cooper (Ed.), Plato: Complete works (pp. 1–16). Indianapolis, IN: Hackett.
Plucker, J. A. (2000). Flip sides of the same coin or marching to the beat of different drummers? A response to Pyryt. Gifted Child Quarterly, 44(3), 193–195. doi:10.1177/001698620004400306.
Plucker, J. A., Callahan, C. M., & Tomchin, E. M. (1996). Wherefore art thou, multiple intelligences? Alternative assessments for identifying talent in ethnically diverse and low income students. Gifted Child Quarterly, 40(2), 81–91. doi:10.1177/001698629604000205.
Puma, M., Bell, S., Cook, R., Heid, C., Broene, P., Jenkins, F., et al. (2012). Third grade follow-up to the head start impact study final report (OPRE Report #2012-45). Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/opre/head_start_report.pdf.
Rushton, J. P. (1995). Race, evolution, and behavior: A life history perspective. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
Rushton, J. P. (2010). Brain size as an explanation of national differences in IQ, longevity, and other life-history variables. Personality and Individual Differences, 48(2), 97–99. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2009.07.029.
Rushton, J. P., & Jensen, A. R. (2005). Thirty years of research on race differences in cognitive ability. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 11(2), 235–294. doi:10.1037/1076-8971.11.2.235.
Sesardic, N. (1992). Science and politics: Dangerous liaisons. Journal for General Philosophy of Science, 23(1), 129–151. doi:10.1007/BF01801799.
Sesardic, N. (2005). Making sense of heritability. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Sesardic, N. (2010). Nature, nurture, and politics. Biology & Philosophy, 25(3), 433–436. doi:10.1007/s10539-009-9159-9.
Singer, P. (1996). Ethics and the limits of scientific freedom. The Monist, 79(2), 218–229. doi:10.5840/monist199679215.
Snyderman, M., & Rothman, S. (1987). Survey of expert opinion on intelligence and aptitude testing. American Psychologist, 42(2), 137–144. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.42.2.137.
Snyderman, M., & Rothman, S. (1988). The IQ controversy, the media and public policy. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
Spearman, C. (1904). “General intelligence,” objectively determined and measured. The American Journal of Psychology, 15(2), 201–292. doi:10.2307/1412107.
Spearman, C. (1927). The abilities of man: Their nature and measurement. London: Macmillan.
Sternberg, R. J. (2005). There are no public-policy implications: A reply to Rushton and Jensen. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 11(2), 295–301. doi:10.1037/1076-8971.11.2.295.
Sternberg, R. J., & Kaufman, S. B. (2012). Trends in intelligence research. Intelligence, 40(2), 235–236. doi:10.1016/j.intell.2012.01.007.
Talmud Bavli. Megillah. (2001). New York: Mesorah.
Templer, D. I., & Arikawa, H. (2006). Temperature, skin color, per capita income, and IQ: An international perspective. Intelligence, 34(2), 121–139. doi:10.1016/j.intell.2005.04.002.
Turkheimer, E. (2007). The theory of innate differences. Cato Unbound. Retrieved from http://www.cato-unbound.org/2007/11/21/eric-turkheimer/race-iq.
Visser, B. A., Ashton, M. C., & Vernon, P. A. (2006). Beyond \(g\): Putting multiple intelligences theory to the test. Intelligence, 34(5), 487–502. doi: 10.1016/j.intell.2006.02.004.
Wade, N. (2011). Scientists measure the accuracy of a racism claim. New York: The New York Times. D4.
Wechsler, D. (1958). The measurement and appraisal of adult intelligence (4th ed.). Baltimore, MD: Waverly Press.
Woodley, M. A. (2011). The cognitive differentiation-integration effort hypothesis: A synthesis between the fitness indicator and life history models of human intelligence. Review of General Psychology, 15(3), 228–245. doi:10.1037/a0024348.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to James Flynn, Satoshi Kanazawa, Gerhard Meisenberg, and Neven Sesardic for constructive comments on earlier drafts of this paper. My understanding of the issues addressed here has been influenced by conversations with Michael A. Woodley of Menie. This work was supported by a fellowship from the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cofnas, N. Science Is Not Always “Self-Correcting”. Found Sci 21, 477–492 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10699-015-9421-3
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10699-015-9421-3