A little update from the research department: I have been writing a paper on the history of the eugenics movement, and while Pirsig's statements attacking Boas in Lila were correct w/r/t objectivity, the "Victorian" morality Boas was trying to halt was much more detrimental to societal quality than his impact on anthropology. The following quote is taken from the excellent book by Daniel J. Kevles, "In the Name of Eugenics." To get a better picture of that Victorian style of thought, I highly suggest reading it. (Regarding Boas) "Openly suspicious of I.Q. tests in general , he held that a person passing a test was proficient in what the test tested--the meaning of the score was impossible to get at. Angered by the "Nordic nonsense" advanced by theorists like Madison Grant, he was certain that there was no proof of hereditary, racially specific mental or behavioral traits in blacks, immigrants, or any other group, and he provided technical consultation on the issue to Congressman Emanuel Celler in the latter's losing battle to beat back teh immigration restrictions. Boas also stimulated a good deal of academic research into questions of race and intelligence. Among the products was the master's thesis of Margaret Mead, who studied the children of Italian immigrants and demonstrated that thier performance on I.Q. tests depended on their families' social status and length or residence in the United States, and also on the extent to which English was spoken in the home." (Kevles, 135) Hopes this gives a better idea of the "rise of objectivity over subjectivity" that has implanted itself in national culture. Charles __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Auctions - buy the things you want at great prices http://auctions.yahoo.com/ MOQ.ORG - http://www.moq.org Mail Archive - http://alt.venus.co.uk/hypermail/moq_discuss/ MD Queries - [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe from moq_discuss follow the instructions at: http://www.moq.org/md/subscribe.html
