Friday, August 26, 2005

This Is Going to Make Lots of People Angry

Charles Murray, the guy who wrote The Bell Curve and Human Accomplishment, on inequality between men and women and whites and blacks. It deserves to be read closely by everyone, including those who want to refute it.

It is also very long and full of big scientificky words, so dig in.

Update: Upon completing the article, I'm angry. When it comes to race especially, what he is asking us to accept I refuse to accept. His libertarian impulses have led him down a path that would make it okay for all of us to recognize that blacks are less intelligent than whites because that will help us get rid of social programs he does not like. The problem is that besides getting rid of costly and ineffective social programs, there isn't a single good thing that comes from what he is arguing. Actually, all of the scenarios that come to mind are horrifying.

Now is the part where I say something controversial: the body of evidence upon which he draws is devoted to the process of evolution. This has always been a problem I've had with evolution, and it should make everyone squeemish: according to evolution, it seems pretty far-fetched that the only genetic differences among races are related to skin color, hair color, and eye shape. Murray even cites research that says race can be determined genetically, when the testers have no access to physical characteristics (although there were a few outliers). I'm sure there are scientists out there that refute that evidence, and I would love to hear about their work. The point is that evolutionists have to admit that their work has consequences when it comes to issues of race among humans, when all of a sudden humans look like animals who need breeding.

The key for me is the outliers--the geniuses who come from nowhere. I don't know, but all of this is just one of many reasons that I believe that God plays a role and that all humans are special and unique and outside the bounds of what scientists will ever be able to explain totally.

But, then again, I am just a vivacious Italian.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Charles Murray rocks...

Stephen said...

My goodness, you are vivacious!