Racial Discrimination in Scientific Studies

Racism has been, and currently is, one of the most dominant forms of discrimination in our world. The minorities, such as those of African and Asian descent, are exposed to varying degrees of maltreatment and social pressure simply due to the color of their skin. Scientists, and other powerful figures of society have used science to try and solidify this discrimination. Using IQ tests, some attempt to claim that the minorities are simply much less intelligent than their Caucasian counterpart. Some have even gone so far to claim that those other than Caucasian are biologically inferior by nature. This construction of racism is purely social, so what exactly are these people basing their right to test race and IQ on? IQ tests and race should not be tested in correlation, simply because it encourages the spread of racial discrimination and the test themselves are basely inaccurate.

Not all scientists have the intention of their work being used to back racism, however data that is controversial can easily be skewed, and used to support discriminatory views. Some scientists even skew their own data unconsciously. This is due to what Charles W. Mills calls The Racial Contract. He states that human beings are innately ignorant, and “whites will in general be unable to understand the world they themselves have produced.” Mills believes that we can become racist without even realizing because society has blinded us. Samuel George Morton is a famous case of a scientist whom unintentionally invalidated his experiment due to his natural racial bias. Morton obtained a vast collection of skulls from the various races, and measured their average volume. At first, he used flax seed to pack into the skulls. It seems, as Stephen Jay Gould anal...

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Proctor, in Cancer Wars, asks a very important question. “Who gains from knowledge (or ignorance) of a particular sort and who loses?” There is absolutely nothing gained from the study of race and IQ. It has not provided us with any information that can be used to better our society. Yet, the people who are placed into these minority groups have everything to lose. They have been pushed into a life of degradation and discrimination simply because of a term, 'race'. IQ tests do not provide an accurate look at any persons intelligence, let alone the intellectual capacity of an entire group of people. Nor does intelligence have any hereditary value, so thus it is based on the individual, not ancestry. Therefore, race and IQ should not be studied on an individual basis, let alone in correlation. It only provides a base for racism even with the best of intentions.