Galton's On The Origin Of Species

Gladwell reveals that to excel in the world, one must be born with or introduced to the right tools. These tools may include being born into a high class home, when one is born, as well as being recognized early in school. When Lewis Terman, in 1921, conducted the Genetic Study of Genius observation, he only took into account the subjects I.Q. scores. It wasn’t until later, when he noticed the divergence of three different groups A, B, and C, did he realize that it wasn’t only about scores. The groups were separated by societal class, group A born from the high end of the scale while C was from the lower end. Group A, as well as most of B, did superb at the same time that group C fell out. Intelligence

During the procedure researchers desired to acquire as much information as accessible during the one-week visit. The testing consisted of 50 hours of four personality trait scales, three aptitude and occupational interests and two intelligence tests in which each twin had to fulfill. The researcher’s results show that genetic influences resemble to justify for most of the disparities in human characteristics. Bouchard and Lykken have come to the realization that genetic has a major impact on the characteristics of human and that it is no longer a deliberation. Instead ideas must be looked upon to advance. Our clarifications on fundamental views about skills, interest, parenting, education, abilities, and social behavior come from the viewpoint that individual’s knowledge and judgement shape their character and not the genes. Bouchard and Lykken will be the first to contradict with clarifications and propose their own suggestions. Genetic influence mainly drives intellect. These influences contain education, family setting and social class. Also, in Bouchard and Lykken’s findings are some genetic and environmental influence combinations that determine individual

One of the first things a child is taught while growing up is the well-known cliché, practice makes perfect. This phrase has been the basis for trial and error situations time and time again, where if it doesn’t work the first time then keep trying. In Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell leaves the audience with a memorable observation, the 10,000 hour rule. The basis of the 10,000 hour rule is that an area of interest requires 10,000 hours of practice in order to become an expert. Although this may be true in some situations, how can someone practice something they are unable to do? Natural talent and ability are crucial characteristics in order to become an expert in any area. This phenomena highly lends itself to the observations made about intelligence and genetics. The main misunderstanding when considering whether this argument is fundamentally nature or nurture is the difference between intelligence and education. Many consider education to be exactly equal to intelligence, which is the basis for the believing that working hard will essentially result in intelligence. Intelligence is considered as “a very general mental capability that, among other things, involved the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly, and learn from experience” (Colangelo19-39.) Qualities that make up the realm of intelligence are things that people are simply born with and cannot easily be taught and trained. One may be able to work twice as hard as the next person and equalize their achievements, but the essential difference at work is the way the mind process information and the difference between intelligence and education. Although some consider intelligence to be an environmentally based attribute, they fail to understand the true meaning of

The role of the environment was minimalized due to Burt’s (1909) theory, intelligence was viewed as a fixed inborn state that could neither be developed or changed (Parrington 1996). Burt’s (1909) influence came from his research through the years 1920 to 1970, when children were segregated by capability. This was noticeable during secondary education

Intelligence is most important in today's society. Some individuals have high intelligence, some have low intelligence. An appropriate environment plays an important role in the development of a child’s intelligence. Stephen Jay Gould exchanged many views on intelligence in his book The Mismeasure of Man

As humans evolve, they will change. Through the years, humans will both change mentally and physically. Through research and reasoning, people can only predict what might be the next human evolution. Much of what is predicted is based on the world that humans live in today. Some day, humans might be even be able to change their own genetics as science and technology advances.

One of the main purposes of the eugenics movement was to attempt to control the level of intelligence in the human race. This is not completely possible, however, as all genes are linked to other genes, and intelligence is affected by many more than just the one gene (Agar, 2006). In contrast to Galton’s theory, intelligence is not actually completely hereditary. Between 47 and 58% of intelligence lies in DNA, and the rest is based on environmental factors (Steen, 1996). Many types of intelligence tests have been created to measure the level of intelligence in humans. Defining intelligence in itself is a difficult task, as there are

Heritability is a statistical estimate of the proportion of the total variance in some trait that is attributable to genetic differences among individuals within a group. The question for the environment and intelligence is: What kinds of experiences hinder intellectual development and what kinds of environmental “nutrients” promote it? Some of the influences associated with reduced mental ability are: Poor prenatal care, malnutrition, exposure to toxins, and stressful family

It has been argued that the propensity towards intellectual plasticity is determined genetically, but that the environment is what governs the moulding of that plasticity. As such, people who have a genetic propensity to intelligence and a highly stimulating infancy will become most intelligent, while those who have a lower genetic propensity to intelligence may still demonstrate high IQ through a highly structured intervention program. This would explain both Ramey’s study, as well as the Devlin argument, and hence support the concept that there might be both a genetic and an environmental influence on intelligence.

Sir Francis Galton was a half-cousin to Charles Darwin, which influenced his early work. He published Hereditary Genius in 1869. In it, he claimed that genius is inherited. (Cohen, 2013; Muskingum, n.d.) Galton spent the later part of his life studying what is now known as eugenics. He believed that an individual’s physical and mental makeup could be improved through selective parenthood. He established a laboratory to collect data from approximately 17,000 individuals. He took physical measurements of each individual such as height, weight, and strength. He believed that by taking physical measurements, he could also measure an individual’s mental abilities (Muskingum, n.d.).

Many scholars believe that "the new science of behavioral genetics has intellectual roots in the old ideas of Eugenics" (Steen 33). Eugenics disguised a political agenda as a scientific one in an attempt to endow discrimination with credibility. Supporters of genetic determinism theories do the same. Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray defend the theory of genetic determinism in The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life, which was published ten years ago. Their book is one of the most widely referenced works regarding the theory that intelligence is inherited. The authors claim that the social order mirrors natural selection, wherein the genetically superior or more intelligent human rises to the top. Of course this means that the lower class, predominantly blacks, are represented as genetically inferior (xxi-xxiii). The authors claim that "ethnic differences in cognitive ability are neither surprising nor in doubt" (269) and attribute the inequality of life among Americans to inherent differences between races in intelligence (127). Their argument rests on the assertion that intelligence is both inheritable and immutable and is supported by intelligence test scores. The text is full of contradictions and a close analysis proves it to be lacking in evidence and smacking of social myth. Their theories are developed using speculation and are tainted by bias. There is no science involved.

Another key figure in behavior genetics is Gregor Mendel. He studied genetics and heritability, and is known as the “father of modern genetics”. Mendel used the garden at his monastery to study how “certain traits in pea plants follows particular patterns” (Gregor Mendel Biography). These studies became the foundation of modern genetics and heritability. By using his pea plants, he was able to determine the existence of dominant and recessive genes. Galton and Mendel were the same age, both born in 1822. During the time of their studies, people believed that traits were “the diluted blending of whatever traits were present in the “parents.” ” (Gregor Mendel Biography). Mendel was able to disprove this. He showed that genes can stay dormant in one generation, but reappear in the next. The term “genetics” was not even used until 1906. Mendel did not promote his research, and it was not widely popular. His findings were duplicated independently years later in 1900.

POLYGENIC: With the new genetic study technologies of the twenty first century, researchers are able to conduct genome-wide analysis studies as well as single nucleotide polymorphism studies which can be used to determine which genes, if any, code for intelligence. A study by Benyamin et al. (2014) used single nucleotide polymorphism testing to compare the genomes of 17,989 children. The authors looked for genes in which children of similar intelligence shared many single nucleotide polymorphisms. However, the authors did not find any single nucleotide polymorphisms that reached a genome-wide significance value. Thus, the authors concluded that this result points to intelligence being the result of the aggregate effect of many genes within the genome and not just one specific “mother gene”. However, while

Either way, Galton influenced researchers to consider taking a scientific focus on their theories of intelligence. One of the researchers Galton influenced was James McKeen Cattell who brought Galton’s ideas to the United States and proposed a series of 50 psychophysical tests (1890). As a matter of fact, Cattell’s psychophysical tests could later not be validated by his student, Clark Wissler (1901). Even theorists that have focused their theories of intelligence on Galton’s views have recognized that Galton had very simplistic views (e.g., Hunt, Frost, Lunneborg, 1973). All things considered, Galton’s controversial views of intelligence (which has since been carried down to present day) have had a profound impact on the area of intelligence.

While this assumption is accepted by a majority of geneticists and behavioral scientists, there is great disagreement on the degree of influence each contributes. Arguments for environmental influences are compelling; at the same time there is growing evidence that genetic influence on intelligence is significant and substantial (Eyesenck, 1998; Mackintosh, 1998; Plomin, 1994; Steen, 1996). The purpose of this paper is to explore the question: "How is intelligence influenced by heredity and environment?"