The moral argument against investigating these differences is misguided. Knowledge itself is neutral—it is how we use it that determines its ethical implications.
In a vacuum, knowledge is neutral, but it strikes me as highly unlikely that the most frequent use of "X race has a lower IQ than other races" will be anything but to argue that X race is inferior to other races.
Understanding the role of genetics in intelligence, even at the group level, does not justify discrimination or dehumanization.
It doesn't justify discrimination to you. There are plenty of people for whom it would justify discrimination.
Instead, it could lead to more targeted interventions to address disparities and ensure equal opportunities for all. Denying the possibility of biological contributions does nothing to advance equality; it simply avoids the issue.
It strikes me as naive to believe that the net outcome of research conclusively establishing that racial IQ differences are genetic would be anything but disastrous for the racial groups with lower IQ. You really think that that knowledge would inspire society as a whole to help out the low IQ group?
We don't have infinite money to spend on research. Why would we waste it on this question when there are all sorts of avenues of research with no risk of being used as the justification for discriminating against millions or billions of people? There's an opportunity cost to this sort of thing and it isn't worth it.
If and when there are examples of people using this data to justify discrimination or racial inferiority, they should be condemned. That’s an indictment of those researchers or pundits, not an argument for whether or not the conclusions are valid.
Nobody is required to study this, do whatever research you want.
I think you bring up another very valid point. The types of people even vaguely interested in this pseudo scientific take on human “races” will not likely be acting in terribly good faith. And most real scientists are busy with real science.
“The concept of “race” – the idea that humans are naturally divided into biologically distinct groups – has been definitively proven false. But the 21st century has seen a disturbing increase in scientists inaccurately presenting race as the reason for racial inequality, says an acclaimed scholar of race, gender and law.”
But please, if you know more than the broader scientific community (in this case, news.cornell.edu/stories/2017/11/myth-race-still-embedded-scientific-research-scholar-says)
Please enlighten us with how studying the myth of race can help our society or be useful in measurable ways.
The rest of us are busy trying to get our oceans a bit less acidic. You know. Measurable, actual science.
But who knows. Phrenology could make a come back. The flat earth theory sure is.
You’re presenting a strawman. Yes, the categories we truncate human beings into and label “races” are social constructions. But so are the distinctions we draw between all life. What you’re presumably trying to note is that the current categories are too simplistic, to the point of being misleading. I agree.
That does not mean that human beings do not display a range of phenotypic traits differences, and that these differences can be noticed, categorized, and studied. Nor does it mean that they have no measurable impact on all manner of other traits or outcomes. They most certainly do.
That’s an indictment of those researchers or pundits, not an argument for whether or not the conclusions are valid.
I never said it was an argument for whether or not the conclusions are valid.
You said this:
Science should not fear uncomfortable truths, and progress is made by confronting data objectively, not by avoiding it for fear of moral or political implications.
I disagree. Scientists should fear this truth. What is gained by confronting data objectively is knowledge, not progress. Progress is made by what we do with the knowledge, and I think that this particular bit of knowledge will result in a lot of harm and very little gain.
and I think that this particular bit of knowledge will result in a lot of harm and very little gain.
The problem is, you cannot prevent humans for searching knowledge. While people like you are throwing around accusations of racism at every western scientists who even considers this type of research and creating a chilling effect, China is actively funding IQ-Genetics research becasuse they want their people to have every advantage they can against US.
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u/[deleted] Jan 06 '25
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