The Measure of Merit
Princeton University Press (Verlag)
9780691017150 (ISBN)
How have modern democracies squared their commitment to equality with their fear that disparities in talent and intelligence might be natural, persistent, and consequential? In this wide-ranging account of American and French understandings of merit, talent, and intelligence over the past two centuries, John Carson tells the fascinating story of how two nations wrestled scientifically with human inequalities and their social and political implications. Surveying a broad array of political tracts, philosophical treatises, scientific works, and journalistic writings, Carson chronicles the gradual embrace of the IQ version of intelligence in the United States, while in France, the birthplace of the modern intelligence test, expert judgment was consistently prized above such quantitative measures. He also reveals the crucial role that determinations of, and contests over, merit have played in both societies--they have helped to organize educational systems, justify racial hierarchies, classify army recruits, and direct individuals onto particular educational and career paths.
A contribution to both the history of science and intellectual history, The Measure of Merit illuminates the shadow languages of inequality that have haunted the American and French republics since their inceptions.
John Carson is Associate Professor in the Department of History and Director of the Science, Technology, and Society Program at the University of Michigan.
List of Tables ix Preface and Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 PART I: MENTAL ABILITIES AND REPUBLICAN CULTURES 9 Chapter One: "The most precious gift of nature": Natural Aristocracy, Republican Polities, and the Meanings of Talent 11 Chapter Two: Mental Capacities and Orthodox Minds: Mental Science, Education, and the Politics of Individual Difference 38 Chapter Three: All Men Are Created Equal? Anthropology, Intelligence, and the Science of Race 75 PART II: INDIVIDUALIZING INTELLIGENCE THROUGH THE SCIENCE OF DIFFERENCE 111 Chapter Four: Between the Art of the Clinic and the Precision of the Laboratory: Individual Intelligence and the Science of Difference in Third Republic France 113 Chapter Five: American Psychology and the Seductions of IQ 159 PART III: MERIT, MATTER, AND MIND 195 Chapter Six: Out of the Lab and Into the World: Intelligence Goes to War 197 Chapter Seven: Intelligence and the Politics of Merit between the Wars 229 Epilogue 271 Notes 281 Index 387
| Erscheint lt. Verlag | 19.11.2006 |
|---|---|
| Zusatzinfo | 3 tables. |
| Verlagsort | New Jersey |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 152 x 235 mm |
| Gewicht | 482 g |
| Themenwelt | Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Kulturgeschichte |
| Geisteswissenschaften ► Psychologie ► Allgemeine Psychologie | |
| Sozialwissenschaften | |
| ISBN-13 | 9780691017150 / 9780691017150 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
| Informationen gemäß Produktsicherheitsverordnung (GPSR) | |
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