Article ID: CBB048117052

The Cyclical Return of the IQ Controversy: Revisiting the Lessons of the Resolution on Genetics, Race and Intelligence (2021)

unapi

In 1976, the Genetics Society of America (GSA) published a document entitled “Resolution of Genetics, Race, and Intelligence.” This document laid out the Society’s position in the IQ controversy, particularly that on scientific and ethical questions involving the genetics of intellectual differences between human populations. Since the GSA was the largest scientific society of geneticists in the world, many expected the document to be of central importance in settling the controversy. Unfortunately, the Resolution had surprisingly little influence on the discussion. In 1979, William Provine analyzed the possible factors that decreased the impact of the Resolution, among them scientists’ limited understanding of the relationship between science and ethics. Through the analysis of unpublished versions of the Resolution and exchanges between GSA members, I will suggest that the limited impact of the statement likely depended on a shift in the aims of the GSA due to the controversies that surrounded the preparation of the document. Indeed, the demands of the membership made it progressively more impartial in both scientific and political terms, decreasing its potential significance for a wider audience. Notably, the troubled history of the Resolution raises the question of what can make effective or ineffective the communication between scientists and the public—a question with resonance in past and present discussions on topics of social importance.

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Authors & Contributors
Jamie Milton Freestone
Freire Júnior, Olival
Schregel, Susanne
Flório, Victório
Ampollini, Ilaria
Lorenat, Jemma
Concepts
Controversies and disputes
Public understanding of science
Communication of scientific ideas
Intelligence
Intelligence tests
Science and race
Time Periods
20th century, late
21st century
20th century
20th century, early
18th century
Places
United States
Australia
Great Britain
San Francisco (California)
São Paulo (Brazil)
Japan
Institutions
Mensa International
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