Human Diversity: The Biology of Gender, Race, and Class
Ratings3
Average rating4.7
All people are equal but, as Human Diversity explores, all groups of people are not the same -- a fascinating investigation of the genetics and neuroscience of human differences. The thesis of Human Diversity is that advances in genetics and neuroscience are overthrowing an intellectual orthodoxy that has ruled the social sciences for decades. The core of the orthodoxy consists of three dogmas: - Gender is a social construct. - Race is a social construct. - Class is a function of privilege. The problem is that all three dogmas are half-truths. They have stifled progress in understanding the rich texture that biology adds to our understanding of the social, political, and economic worlds we live in. It is not a story to be feared. "There are no monsters in the closet," Murray writes, "no dread doors we must fear opening." But it is a story that needs telling. Human Diversity does so without sensationalism, drawing on the most authoritative scientific findings, celebrating both our many differences and our common humanity.
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Very difficult reading. Filled with math, statistics and biology. Makes many points that should become starting points of further discussion and exploration. Murray says again and again that sociology will now become an actual science. Not sure about that, but he's a very smart guy and usually right.
4.5 stars. Charles Murray, the controversial author behind The Bell Curve dips his toes into more controversial territory with Human Diversity. The central thesis of this book is that there exist notable psychological differences between groups of human beings, and these differences are due in large part to genetic factors.
Examples of groups differentiated in these ways include males/females, races (or the more academic ‘ancestral populations') and social classes. He argues that these differences are biological in origin (not merely socially constructed) and have proven robust to any social policy interventions we could throw at them. We cannot hope to erase these differences though social policy. Instead, policy makers should acquaint themselves with the nature of these differences, and understand what is or isn't amenable to change.
Considering that Murray is a policy analyst and not a psychologist/anthropologist/geneticist/neuroscientist/some other -ist, his arguments are surprisingly good. It is clear that he has engaged the research, and explores the implications of very recent developments in all of these fields (as of early 2020) to the topic of human diversity. This book is rigorous enough that it can be hard to follow, even for a philomath like myself. Even then, I think he does well to illustrate his basic point, while making sure to expound on the relevant data and references for the interested reader. He never seems to overstate his point, coming to modest conclusions from the evidence.
The weakest chapter is probably the final one, where he leaves the data behind and begins to expound on his personal conservative views, calling for people to rally around family, community, faith, and vocation.
