From: "Catherine G. Valentine" <cgvalent at naz.edu> To: teachsoc at vance.irss.unc.edu
Just a few days ago I received a free copy of a book entitled Race Evolution & Behavior by J. Philippe Rushton. The publisher is Transaction. The book is presented as a special abridged edition and the unabridged edition is available from Transaction.
I have not had time to read the book, but I have skimmed it. It is quite disturbing. Rushton (who is cited in The Bell Curve) argues that he has studied race differences in brain size (!), intelligence, sexuality, personality, growth rate, life span, crime and family stability (p. 18). "On all of these traits, Orientals fall at one end of the spectrum, Blacks fall at the other end, nd Whites fall in between" (p. 18). Evidence, he says, shows that this is due to biology and environment. The book is a bizarre throwback to old "in your face" racist ideology dressed up in scientific garb. For example, the chapter on sex, hormones, and AIDS begins with the following quote: "Race differences exist in sexual behavior. The races differ in how often they like to have sexual intercourse. This affects rates of sexually transmitted diseases. On all the counts, Orientals are the least sexually active, Blacks the most, and Whites are in between." Chapter 4 (Intelligence and Brain Size) argues that "the races" differ in brain size and on IQ tests etc. And, chapter 7 (Out of Africa) asserts an out of Africa theory to explain "race differences." The theory (YIKES!) argues that "To deal with the colder winters and scarcer food supply of Europe and Northeast Asia, the Oriental and White races moved away from an r-strategy toward the K-strategy. This meant better parenting and social organization, which required a larger brain size and a higher IQ. K-strategy and r-strategy are discussed in this chapter.
In the final chapter, Rushton states that the information he provides in this book has been squelched by the "wrong turn" taken by the social sciences about 70 years ago when "they left Darwinism and refused to look at the biological basis of human behavior." (p. 91)
The book arrived at my home address packaged in a white envelope, no return address and no letter from Transaction. One of my colleagues in sociology, Harry Murray, also received a copy of this book via his office address.
I'm wondering if others have received the book and what anyone knows about the relationship between Transaction and Rushton. By the way, Rushton's preface gives thanks to Harry Weyher and The Pioneer Fund.
Kay Valentine Sociology Nazareth College Rochester, NY cgvalent at naz.edu