Cathexis, it's not the researcher's argument that biological diversity threatens equal identity. That's the argument of many modern progressives (a group that I frequently vote with) who assert that biology must be irrelevant to justice, except when it is exculpating (mental illness, etc.).
Equality of outcome (a dubious goal) starts from an assumption that there is equality of biology and if we follow through with equality of treatment, we can all live in a level of comfort that is both fair and equal. If equality of biology is unattainable and getting farther away, an expectation of equal outcomes can't be sustained. I'm a little alarmed by increasing acknowledgment of biological inequity, as it would be a mistake for inequalities of biology and opportunity to be translated into permanent power disparities, but such a trend may be inevitable.
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Biology Isn't Fair
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Why do you think the idea of biological differences is so alarming?
Beats me. I think it's bizarre [that it's alarming]. I know part of it is that a big phenomenon in academics in the 20th century was the rise of social science. Social science, for its validity, needed to get rid of biology. There was the notion that arose by proclamation that biology was irrelevant to social behavior, that everything was learned.
Do you think your research is risky?
The kind of thing I do is very much mathematics, which means that I don't have to live off of federal grants. I can speak freely. If I were living on grants, I'd be terrified because it is controversial. Certainly our government could decide that they didn't want to spend money things that are politically dangerous. There certainly is that.
It seems like the research community has accepted the idea of genetic diversity. Do you think society will?
I think we can't avoid it. I think we're going to have a major revision in our shared attitudes about what social decency and justice are. I think we can't duck it any longer.
So, if society does accept genetic diversity, how will that play out?
We've gone far enough that I don't think bigotry will ever be acceptable again. I think we'll have to learn to treat people as individuals. The differences within groups are much bigger than the differences between groups. You've got to tell the truth, and I guess I have faith that underlying all of [this research] is a lot of decency, goodwill and optimism in the citizenry, and I think we'll handle it decently.
© 2007
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