Tearse 1

Isabelle Tearse

Professor Cumings

ENGL 3200.7

3/15/16

The Bell Curve Debate:

Racist Truth v. Truly Racist

After looking at the debates surrounding The Bell Curve, the reader is left unsure

of what to think since many people make claims against The Bell Curve, however some

still make the argument in favor of it. The Bell Curve, by Charles A. Murray and Richard

Herrnstein suggests that intelligence is hereditary and can be measured directly by IQ

testing, which will present a number representing a persons level of intelligence. The

opposite side of this debate argues that IQ tests are invalid since they do not take into

consideration a persons life experiences and situation, making it an unsuitable form of

intelligence testing. The most significant portion of this debate is that The Bell Curve

clearly argues that one's intelligence is affected by ones race, with whites being the most

intelligent. Gould, Whatley, Quaye, Richardson, and Rodgers conclude that this book was

written to support classical racist perspectives that were backed up by unconvincing

scientific rationalizations.

Critique of The Bell Curve by Stephan Gould is well known and has been

received positively. Gould states that The Bell Curve contains no new arguments and

presents no compelling data (367). He reveals his scientific belief that IQ is not

hereditary. By pointing out all of the scientific fallacies present in The Bell Curve and

explaining what mistakes were made in the studies, Goulds points have more depth than
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Murray and Herrnstein. His explanation leaves the reader with a clear understanding of

what The Bell Curve presents and why Gould believes the ideas presented to be

significantly flawed.

Warren Whatley in Wanted: Some black long distance runners discusses his

own frustrations with the racism in The Bell Curve, adding support to Gould. Whatley

talks about how this book only enhanced white racist beliefs and tried to eliminate any

possibility of blacks being treated equally the United States at the time it was published

in 1994. Whatley focuses on how unfair it is of the authors of The Bell Curve to argue

that [blacks] are inferior and how aggravating that they also invoke the name of science

to do it (44). This statement seems particularly convincing after reading Goulds

argument against The Bell Curve, as well as many other scholarly arguments against The

Bell Curves claims. Whatley demonstrates how the original book was built on unstable

scientific grounds, therefore convincing the reader that The Bell Curve only furthers the

authors racist views instead of presenting accurate scientific data.

Similarly, the article entitled The assault on the human spirit: 'The Bell Curve,'

by Randolph Quaye, directly agrees with Goulds critique of The Bell Curve. Quaye

defines the book as nothing more than a revisionist eugenic idea, a social Darwinism

that comprises still another polemic against the dignity and worth of black people (41).

His article focuses on how The Bell Curve completely ignores the strong factors of social

environments and focuses solely on hereditary factors. Quaye states that the science in

The Bell Curve demonstrates the real social biases and perspectives that are present

instead of presenting scientific findings objectively, showing his support for Goulds

argument against The Bell Curve. Unlike Whatleys article, this article references a
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specific chart which shows which families have a child in college compared to their race

and income. Although whites do have more children in college than other races, the chart

reveals that as family income increases, college enrollment increases, demonstrating the

need to also analyze intelligence in regard to social environment, which The Bell Curve

ignores. By including this chart and discussing how these results reveal that race has

nothing to with intelligence level helps to make the reader feel more confident with

Quayes assertions.

In The window dressing behind The Bell Curve, Tina Richardson discusses

how the explanation of the data in the book The Bell Curve aligns with previous

perspectives about race and how the suggestions and conclusions drawn from the

evidence are not grounded in the evidence. She also talks about how Murray and

Herrnsteins limitations within their scientific findings weaken their overall argument. In

her critique of The Bell Curve, Richardson makes it clear that their ideas are grounded in

the age-old bias that some groups are just superior to other groups and, therefore, deserve

more access to resources, recognition, and better treatment (42). In her article, she

clearly breaks down the faults with Murray and Herrnsteins argument into simple terms,

showing how the claims made in the book are not entirely correct. However, later in the

article, she agrees with Murray and Herrnsteins idea that there is minimal demonstrable

bias against social, economic, ethnic, or racial groups in the proctoring of standardized IQ

tests (42). By agreeing with this small part of The Bell Curve, Richardsons credibility is

diminished because the reader may associate her with being sympathetic to Murray and

Herrnsteins views.
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Karen Rogers in What The Bell Curve Says and Doesn't Say: Is a Balanced

View Possible? discusses the overall thesis of The Bell Curve and then talks about the

important scientific findings that the book leaves out while maintaining racial

discrimination that, in her belief, should have disappeared decades ago (253). She

focuses her article on two main ideas: what the book leaves out and the race issues that

come up because of the book. In her article she states that Murray and Herrnstein are

incorrect with implying that IQ and intelligence are the same thing when in fact

intelligence has several different connotations and is impossible to measure whereas IQ

has a quantifiable number attached. She cites many other scholars who support this idea,

thus strengthening her argument. With her logical explanations of the weaknesses in the

claims presented in The Bell Curve and her citations of many different authors who all

made the same claims, the reader is left satisfied with her article and its honesty.

Overall, many people avoid reading highly scientific material because of its

complexity and, therefore, tend to simply accept the work as believable, especially when

the work was written by someone famous or highly educated. However, this can often

cause the readers to support material that may be unjust or illogical. This was the case for

The Bell Curve before scholars starting taking the time to read the book and educate non-

readers about its problematic content. Gould brought to light the skepticism surrounding

this book with his article and advised readers to advance with caution. Yet, many readers

still believed in what Murray and Herrnstein had said, most likely due to the books

growing popularity, especially among white supremacist groups. In a world where

information is so readily available, it is vital that everyone think for themselves and
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investigate the topic themselves, to ensure that false science is not accepted as fact simply

because of the prestige attached to scientific information.

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Works Cited

Gould, Stephan Jay. The Mismeasure of Man. New York: Norton and Company, 1996.

365-390. Print.

Quaye, Randolph. The Assault On The Human Spirit: The Bell Curve.(A critique Of

The Bell Curve). The Black Scholar 1 (1995): 41. Opposing Viewpoints in

Context. Web. 1 Mar. 2016.

Richardson, Tina Q. The Window Dressing Behind The Bell Curve. School Psychology

Review 24.1 (1995): 42. Academic Search Complete. Web. 1 Mar. 2016.

Rogers, Karen B. What The Bell Vurve Says And Doesnt Say: Is A Balanced View

Possible? Roeper Review 18.4 (1996): 252-55.ERIC. Web. 2 Mar. 2016.

Bell Curve.(A Critique of The Bell Curve). The Black Scholar 1 (1995): 44. Opposing

Viewpoints in Context. Web. 1 Mar. 2016.