Speaking of Science: Revisiting The Bell Curve

Perhaps no book in the past 50 years is a better example of the pernicious misuse of “science” than The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life. Under the guise of “dispassionate inquiry,” Charles Murray (a political scientist) and Richard Herrnstein (an educational psychologist) weigh in with a lengthy argument about the genetic roots of inequality that provides the moral underpinning of public policies that continue to undermine the educational and economic opportunities of African-Americans and Latinos. The deficiencies of the arguments advanced in this book and in the earlier work of the two authors, along with their policy and political consequences, will be the focus of the discussion. A brief review of the critiques of geneticists, psychologists and others will be included.

JOSEPH FASHING has taught for more than thirty years at SUNY Purchase. Before that he taught at the Universities of New Mexico and Oregon. Professor Fashing received his BA and MA from the University of California Santa Barbara and his PhD in sociology from the University of Oregon. He also holds a law degree from Pace University.

Coffee, wine, and other light refreshments will be available.











When: Mon., Jun. 26, 2017 at 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Where: New York Society for Ethical Culture
2 W. 64th St.
212-874-5210
Price: Suggested donation: Members $5, Guests $10
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Perhaps no book in the past 50 years is a better example of the pernicious misuse of “science” than The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life. Under the guise of “dispassionate inquiry,” Charles Murray (a political scientist) and Richard Herrnstein (an educational psychologist) weigh in with a lengthy argument about the genetic roots of inequality that provides the moral underpinning of public policies that continue to undermine the educational and economic opportunities of African-Americans and Latinos. The deficiencies of the arguments advanced in this book and in the earlier work of the two authors, along with their policy and political consequences, will be the focus of the discussion. A brief review of the critiques of geneticists, psychologists and others will be included.

JOSEPH FASHING has taught for more than thirty years at SUNY Purchase. Before that he taught at the Universities of New Mexico and Oregon. Professor Fashing received his BA and MA from the University of California Santa Barbara and his PhD in sociology from the University of Oregon. He also holds a law degree from Pace University.

Coffee, wine, and other light refreshments will be available.

Buy tickets/get more info now