Department of Classics, Philosophy and History, University of Genoa, Via Balbi, 2, 16126, Genoa, Italy.
J Hist Biol. 2021 Jun;54(2):199-228. doi: 10.1007/s10739-021-09637-6. Epub 2021 May 21.
In 1976, the Genetics Society of America (GSA) published a document entitled "Resolution of Genetics, Race, and Intelligence." This document laid out the Society's position in the IQ controversy, particularly that on scientific and ethical questions involving the genetics of intellectual differences between human populations. Since the GSA was the largest scientific society of geneticists in the world, many expected the document to be of central importance in settling the controversy. Unfortunately, the Resolution had surprisingly little influence on the discussion. In 1979, William Provine analyzed the possible factors that decreased the impact of the Resolution, among them scientists' limited understanding of the relationship between science and ethics. Through the analysis of unpublished versions of the Resolution and exchanges between GSA members, I will suggest that the limited impact of the statement likely depended on a shift in the aims of the GSA due to the controversies that surrounded the preparation of the document. Indeed, the demands of the membership made it progressively more impartial in both scientific and political terms, decreasing its potential significance for a wider audience. Notably, the troubled history of the Resolution raises the question of what can make effective or ineffective the communication between scientists and the public-a question with resonance in past and present discussions on topics of social importance.
1976 年，美国遗传学会（GSA）发表了一份题为“遗传学、种族和智力决议”的文件。该文件阐述了学会在智力差异的遗传学方面的争议，特别是在涉及人类群体之间的科学和伦理问题上的立场。由于 GSA 是世界上最大的遗传学家科学学会，许多人期望该文件对解决争议具有核心重要性。不幸的是，该决议对讨论的影响出人意料地小。1979 年，威廉·普罗文（William Provine）分析了降低决议影响力的可能因素，其中包括科学家对科学与伦理之间关系的理解有限。通过对决议未发表的版本和 GSA 成员之间的交流进行分析，我将表明，该声明的影响有限可能取决于 GSA 目标的转变，这是由于该文件的准备工作引发了争议。事实上，由于会员的要求，该学会在科学和政治方面变得越来越公正，从而降低了其对更广泛受众的潜在意义。值得注意的是，该决议的曲折历史提出了一个问题，即科学家与公众之间的沟通如何才能有效或无效——这是一个在过去和现在关于社会重要性主题的讨论中都有共鸣的问题。
