Thursday, December 16, 2010

HBD - Race not Required

Many people use HBD as a synonym for race realism when a broader definition is more is more useful. Half Sigma defines HBD as a superset of race realism:
"Human biodiversity is an acknowledgment that humans differ from each other in various ways because of our different genotypes. Differences include, but are not limited to, physical appearance, athletic ability, personality, and cognitive abilities."
To deny HBD is to embrace blank slatism which is easy to refute and more importantly puts the deniers on the moral low ground.  Like opponents of stem cell research HBD deniers prevent the sufferers  genetic diseases possible cures.  

Take fragile X, a hereditary genetic condition that presents its sufferers with a one way ticket to retard town.  Should we deny HBD in a blank slate fog or should we join Doris Buffett and try to save the children from a lifetime of free bus passes and dish washing jobs.  HBD is for the children!

2 comments:

occidentalascent said...

Race realism, if by that we mean genetic realism, can come in the back door of HBD by virtue of immigration patterns. You could, for example, maintain that all populations have the same average capacity yet maintain that Mexican immigrants represent the lower end of the bell curve.

Additionally there really are two 'race realisms': Phenotypic realism (e.g. acknowledging the well established empirical facts population differences in g and the affects of that) and genotypic realism (e.g. acknowledging the probability of a genetic basis for the above differences).

In our bizarre society there is even Phenotypic denialism.

Statsquatch said...

As you and others have pointed out that there is a general IQ allergy. You have to get over that before you can see phenotypic differences and look for a justification.