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The Mismeasure of Man

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( 9,356 ratings, 525 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Mismeasure of Man challenges the notion that people can be scientifically ranked by innate intelligence. Stephen Jay Gould critiques the historical misuse of scientific methods to justify social hierarchies and biological determinism. This edition includes a new introduction and essays addressing ongoing debates about race and intelligence, reinforcing its role as a powerful rebuttal to flawed genetic explanations of human potential.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Essential for readers interested in psychology, philosophy, social justice, and the science behind intelligence testing.

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The definitive refutation to the argument of The Bell Curve.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

When published in 1981, The Mismeasure of Man was immediately hailed as a masterwork, the ringing answer to those who would classify people, ranking them according to their supposed genetic gifts and limits.

And yet the idea of innate limits—of biology as destiny—dies hard, as evidenced by the attention devoted to The Bell Curve, whose arguments are here so effectively anticipated and thoroughly undermined by Stephen Jay Gould.

In this edition, Dr. Gould has written a substantial new introduction, telling how and why he wrote the book and tracing the subsequent history of the controversy on innateness, right through The Bell Curve. Further, he has added five essays on questions of The Bell Curve in particular and on race, racism, and biological determinism in general.

These additions strengthen the book's claim to be, as Leo J. Kamin of Princeton University has said, "a major contribution toward deflating pseudo-biological 'explanations' of our present social woes."

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Saturday Review calls it "a rare book—at once of great importance and wonderful to read."

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780393314250

Publisher: WW Norton & Co

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 17 June 1996

Country: United States

Imprint: WW Norton & Co

Edition: Revised and Expanded

Audience: Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 23.0mm

Width: 140.0mm

Height: 211.0mm

Weight: 332g

Pages: 448

About the Author

Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002) was the Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology and Professor of Geology at Harvard University. He published over twenty books, received the National Book and National Book Critics Circle Awards, and a MacArthur Fellowship.

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