Typical of the New Yorker. No one on the right insists that genetics are everything, not even me who says that humorously. The difficulty on the left is that people give lip service to saying that of course genetics accounts for a great deal, but then denying it in every specific case that comes into the news. Just dishonesty, actually.
They could shift. It certainly wouldn't be the first time a political stance has done a 180. To the degree that 'systemic racism' is a stalking horse for the implementation of a neo-feudal planned economy, in the way Green proposals are often Watermelons (green outside, red inside), a genetic basis for black underperformance really makes no difference.
To be clearer, what they can't seem to do is discuss them as influential without allowing that to be understood as predetermined. They often speak of nuance, but have little, in practice.
@ douglas - I think what you describe in your second comment is the experience of many researchers in human genetics. Interestingly, this even applies to some professional geneticists who do not specialise in humans, whenever the topic switches to that species.
That article was fine - I've recently read most of the referenced stuff since Charles Murray has come out with Facing Reality.
I'm now becoming a fan of Freddie deBoer, the Marxist author of The Cult of Smart, who is a leftist who accepts IQ & other unfair differences as real - and wants social change to reduce the effects. His substack talks about the article too:
Steve Sailor, even more unmentionable than Murray, was not mentioned in the article, but also has a fine response in Taki's Mag: https://www.takimag.com/article/for-whom-the-bell-curve-tolls/
My son the doctor and I have been arguing a bit about this for a couple of months now.
Life is unfair. But this is different than injustice, alto I'm pretty sure it's a key emotional reason for atheists to be anti-God (He's not fair!).
@ Tom Grey - except in this instance it is evolution that is the culprit, not God, and the unfairness comes from our worship of intelligence over traits that are actual virtues.
Typical of the New Yorker. No one on the right insists that genetics are everything, not even me who says that humorously. The difficulty on the left is that people give lip service to saying that of course genetics accounts for a great deal, but then denying it in every specific case that comes into the news. Just dishonesty, actually.
ReplyDeleteThey could shift. It certainly wouldn't be the first time a political stance has done a 180. To the degree that 'systemic racism' is a stalking horse for the implementation of a neo-feudal planned economy, in the way Green proposals are often Watermelons (green outside, red inside), a genetic basis for black underperformance really makes no difference.
ReplyDeleteOh, if it's the genetics that lead to pigmentation, they believe those are completely directive of one's direction in society, somehow.
ReplyDeleteTraditionally, it's leftists that start thinking it's the genes. I'd be more worried if they were more on board with that.
To be clearer, what they can't seem to do is discuss them as influential without allowing that to be understood as predetermined. They often speak of nuance, but have little, in practice.
ReplyDelete@ douglas - I think what you describe in your second comment is the experience of many researchers in human genetics. Interestingly, this even applies to some professional geneticists who do not specialise in humans, whenever the topic switches to that species.
ReplyDeleteThat article was fine - I've recently read most of the referenced stuff since Charles Murray has come out with Facing Reality.
ReplyDeleteI'm now becoming a fan of Freddie deBoer, the Marxist author of The Cult of Smart, who is a leftist who accepts IQ & other unfair differences as real - and wants social change to reduce the effects. His substack talks about the article too:
https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/p/genes-believe-in-you
Steve Sailor, even more unmentionable than Murray, was not mentioned in the article, but also has a fine response in Taki's Mag:
https://www.takimag.com/article/for-whom-the-bell-curve-tolls/
My son the doctor and I have been arguing a bit about this for a couple of months now.
Life is unfair. But this is different than injustice, alto I'm pretty sure it's a key emotional reason for atheists to be anti-God (He's not fair!).
@ Tom Grey - except in this instance it is evolution that is the culprit, not God, and the unfairness comes from our worship of intelligence over traits that are actual virtues.
ReplyDelete