Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures and maps
- List of tables
- List of boxes
- Acknowledgments
- Prologue
- Part I St. Thomas Jefferson
- Part II Blacks and the pursuit of happiness
- 2 The lost boys
- 3 What Germany did that America has not
- 4 Do we want affirmative action for whites only?
- Part III Yours for a better world
- Part IV A history of moral confusion
- Epilogue
- Appendix: tables with comments
- References
- Index of names
- Index of subjects
3 - What Germany did that America has not
from Part II - Blacks and the pursuit of happiness
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 September 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures and maps
- List of tables
- List of boxes
- Acknowledgments
- Prologue
- Part I St. Thomas Jefferson
- Part II Blacks and the pursuit of happiness
- 2 The lost boys
- 3 What Germany did that America has not
- 4 Do we want affirmative action for whites only?
- Part III Yours for a better world
- Part IV A history of moral confusion
- Epilogue
- Appendix: tables with comments
- References
- Index of names
- Index of subjects
Summary
The most tenable hypothesis, in my judgment, is that genetic, as well as environmental differences, are involved in the average disparity between American Negroes and whites in intelligence and educability.
(Arthur Jensen, 1973)Arthur Jensen threatens to dominate this debate by the range of his learning, his skill as a controversialist, and the sheer volume of his contribution. In much the same way, St. Augustine overwhelmed his opponents concerning whether Christianity played an important role in the fall of Rome.
(James Flynn, 1980)Thanks to reluctance to confront the possibility of a genetic component in racial differences, Americans have a false impression of the state of expert opinion on this question. As the prefatory quotes make evident, a competent scholar, untainted by racial bias, has led group of psychologists who, for more than thirty years, have believed that genes play a larger role than environment in causing the historic IQ gap between black and white (of about 15 points). For almost thirty years, I have disputed their position, without vilification and while conceding that the evidence is indecisive. I think they are probably mistaken, but anyone who tells you that they are certain is, in my opinion, either ignorant or unwilling to squarely face the evidence.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Where Have All the Liberals Gone?Race, Class, and Ideals in America, pp. 68 - 111Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2008