October 19, 2007

James Watson: Only Third of Temp Employees Pychopaths or Sociopaths; Power of Reasoning May Not Be Equally Heritage of Humanity

Link: James Watson: To question genetic intelligence is not racism - Independent Online Edition > Commentators.

One in three people looking for a job in temporary employment bureaux in Los Angeles is a psychopath or a sociopath. Is this a consequence of their environment or their genetic components? DNA sequencing should give us the answer. The thought that some people are innately wicked disturbs me. But science is not here to make us feel good. It is to answer questions in the service of knowledge and greater understanding.

...We do not yet adequately understand the way in which the different environments in the world have selected over time the genes which determine our capacity to do different things. The overwhelming desire of society today is to assume that equal powers of reason are a universal heritage of humanity. It may well be. But simply wanting this to be the case is not enough. This is not science.

For genetic reasons attributable to my ancestry, I may lack the reasoning ability to formulate a cogent response.

Posted by Anupam Chander on October 19, 2007 at 03:43 PM in Globalization | Permalink