Hereditary Genius: An Inquiry into Its Laws And Consequences

by Francis Galton

A cousin of Charles Darwin, Francis Galton (1822-1911) was so impressed by Darwin's On the Origin of Species that he decided to investigate in detail the implications of inheritance and evolution for the development of outstanding human abilities. By "hereditary genius" Galton meant, "an ability that was exceptionally high and at the same time inborn," and he argued that in the debate over "nature versus nurture" (an expression that he coined) nature always prevails.In 1869, he published this, his first, book on the topic, presenting a good deal of evidence showing that exceptional ability often ran in families. In separate chapters devoted to outstanding professionals ranging from English judges to "wrestlers of the North Country," Galton pointed out that most of these high achievers had relatives who also displayed notable abilities. Based on this statistical sampling, he concluded that eminence in any field was due to hereditary factors.Many greeted these results with skepticism, but Charles Darwin expressed his admiration for Galton's results and later cited his work in The Descent of Man. Galton went on to use this initial research as the basis for a new field, which he called "eugenics," the aim of which was "the betterment of the human race" through "appropriate marriages or abstention from marriage." Although Galton's ideas gained momentum over several decades, they were eventually discredited after being misappropriated by the Nazis as part of their racist ideology. Today, however, with the discovery of heritable diseases, the use of genetic screening to eliminate undesirable traits, sperm banks, and the possibility of "designer babies" and human cloning, Galton's groundbreaking research has gained renewed currency and will be the subject of debate for years to come.

Genres: Psychology, Science, Nonfiction, Genetics, Philosophy, Biology, History

355 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1869

About the author

Sir Francis Galton, FRS was an English Victorian polymath: anthropologist, eugenicist, tropical explorer, geographer, inventor, meteorologist, proto-geneticist, psychometrician, and statistician. He was knighted in 1909.

Galton produced over 340 papers and books. He also created the statistical concept of correlation and widely promoted regression toward the mean. He was the first to apply statistical methods to the study of human differences and inheritance of intelligence, and introduced the use of questionnaires and surveys for collecting data on human communities, which he needed for genealogical and biographical works and for his anthropometric studies.

He was a pioneer in eugenics, coining the term itself and the phrase "nature versus nurture". His book Hereditary Genius (1869) was the first social scientific attempt to study genius and greatness.

As an investigator of the human mind, he founded psychometrics (the science of measuring mental faculties) and differential psychology and the lexical hypothesis of personality. He devised a method for classifying fingerprints that proved useful in forensic science. He also conducted research on the power of prayer, concluding it had none by its null effects on the longevity of those prayed for.

As the initiator of scientific meteorology, he devised the first weather map, proposed a theory of anticyclones, and was the first to establish a complete record of short-term climatic phenomena on a European scale. He also invented the Galton Whistle for testing differential hearing ability.

He was cousin of Douglas Strutt Galton and half-cousin of Charles Darwin.

Reviews

[Fred R · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't see that the eugenics movement moved much beyond this foundational document, either in politics or in scientific understanding, which is I suppose both a compliment to Galton and a judgment on his successors.

He should have said more about the nephews of Popes, which looked like the most promising piece of evidence in considering the basic nature/nurture issue.

I think implicitly it looks Galton wanted to turn humanity into a super-organism, like an ant-hill or bee hive. This might still be in the cards.

Also, I wanted to add that Galton displays what seems to me a sophisticated understanding of fitness landscapes and "evolution by jerks", even if only in a couple paragraphs near the end.

[Will · Rating 5 out of 5]

with this book Galton founded the field of behavioral genetics, popularized statistics, investigated the correlates of high achievement and gave birth to eugenics-- his version, of course, was non coercive and largely positive-- he proposed encouraging talented young men and women to have children earlier on in life and encouraging the less able to have fewer. A valuable book for anyone interested in the history of science, especially psychometrics, behavioral genetics, and statistics.

[Alberto · Rating 2 out of 5]

Monotony and pedantry, thy name is Galton.

Even more unforgivable, many of his conclusions are truly idiotic.

[Ngee Poo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the easiest of reads, though perhaps presents groundbreaking ideas and thoughts of the author's time.

[Scott Holstad · Rating 2 out of 5]

As advertised. A glimpse into 19th century western European faux-scientific attempts to explain and justify racially superior genes and peoples along a pseudo-Darwinian tract of quasi-logic, notorious for finding a ready audience with early Nazi members, while it continues to influence those that have come along later. As I've often felt when reading and researching such texts, the logic/science rarely holds up under scrutiny, yet I'm not sure if that should always be my focus. Even if such rarely holds up, its influence among certain types has been and remains undeniable and that, I think, is of greater interest and importance to me in my research.

Recommended for researchers desirous of seeing race theory and so many allied ideologies make their way to the people and places that made use of their contents. Of course, of historical and research value. I place little credence in nearly anything, any platform, put forth by this text and those like it but it's still important to read source material just to know why and how you object to such material...

[Ireneusz Pyc · Rating 1 out of 5]

boring like a phone book;
it even resembles a phone book

[Brian Beckner · Rating 1 out of 5]

NO CONTENT- SCAM

Someone was looking to make money and created a book with no content. The book is a scam. Do not buy.

[Adrián P. C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐ OK/Good.