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Cover image of Killer Apes, Naked Apes, and Just Plain Nasty People
Cover image of Killer Apes, Naked Apes, and Just Plain Nasty People
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Killer Apes, Naked Apes, and Just Plain Nasty People

The Misuse and Abuse of Science in Political Discourse

Richard J. Perry
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Misunderstood—or deliberately twisted—biological science leads to overheated rhetoric and bad policy.

We like to think that science always illuminates. But the disturbing persistence of the concept of biological determinism—the false idea that human behavior is genetically fixed or inherently programmed and therefore is not susceptible to rapid change—shows that scientific research and concepts can be distorted to advance an inhumane and sometimes deadly political agenda. It was biological determinism that formed the basis of the theory of eugenics, which in turn led to the forced sterilization...

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Misunderstood—or deliberately twisted—biological science leads to overheated rhetoric and bad policy.

We like to think that science always illuminates. But the disturbing persistence of the concept of biological determinism—the false idea that human behavior is genetically fixed or inherently programmed and therefore is not susceptible to rapid change—shows that scientific research and concepts can be distorted to advance an inhumane and sometimes deadly political agenda. It was biological determinism that formed the basis of the theory of eugenics, which in turn led to the forced sterilization of "misfits" and the creation of Nazi death camps.

In Killer Apes, Naked Apes, and Just Plain Nasty People, anthropologist Richard J. Perry delivers a scathing critique of determinism. Exploring the historical context and enduring popularity of the movement over the past century and a half, he debunks the facile and the reductionist thinking of so many popularizers of biological determinism while considering why biological explanations have resonated in ways that serve to justify deeply conservative points of view.

Moving through time, from the prevalence of overt racism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to "human nature" arguments, from the rise of sociobiology in the 1970s to the current fixation on evolutionary psychology, the book argues that both history and cross-cultural studies amply demonstrate the human capacity for growth and self-determination. Clearly written, conversational, and rationally argued, this book promotes sound and careful research while skewering the bogus ideological assertions that have been used to justify colonialism, slavery, gender discrimination, neoliberal economic policies, and the general status quo.

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I read Richard Perry's thought-provoking book in a single sitting. Written in a lively, engaging style, the book takes evolutionary psychology to task in a perceptive and penetrating fashion.

— Paul Farber, Oregon State University, author of Mixing Races: From Scientific Racism to Modern Evolutionary Ideas
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Available
Trim Size
5.5
x
8.5
Pages
232
ISBN
9781421417516
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Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
There's a History Here
What's in a Word?
1. Don't Get Me Started
Humans and "Nature"
It Wasn't Always about Biology
But Maybe They Really Are Different!
It's All Uphill from Here
Romantic

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Preface
Introduction
There's a History Here
What's in a Word?
1. Don't Get Me Started
Humans and "Nature"
It Wasn't Always about Biology
But Maybe They Really Are Different!
It's All Uphill from Here
Romantic Supremacy
Philosophical Biology
Biological Stories
2. Eugenics
The Right Sorts of People
What's to Be Done?
Parasites and Pests
Manipulating Biology
The Gift of IQ
Boas and "Fixed Traits"
Out with Eugenics, for Now; but We Still Have IQ!
3. Killer Apes, Naked Apes, and Just Plain Nasty People
Enter the Killer Ape...
... Followed by the Naked Ape...
... Followed by Nasty People
It Gets Worse
A Serious Flaw in the Argument
I Know, but It Still Seems Real
Back to Eugenics
4. Mind Games
Social Programs? Not So Fast
Seeing Double
Wait— What Were Those Scores Again?
You Say Heritability, I Say Inheritance—Let's Call the Whole Thing Off
Let's Get That Social Ranking Straight
Nothing If Not Persistent
Twins, Again!
Hot Air from Canada and from across the Pond
Everyone Needs a Friend
5. Sociobiology
"Go to the Ant, Thou Sluggard. Consider Her Ways and Be Wise"
Edward, Have You Met Herbert?
Quiet... I Think the Genes Are up to Something
What's Good for the Goose
Wait... Are We Still Doing Science?
Pull Up a Chair; It's Story Time
The Generic "Primitive"
Americans and Brits
A Genetic Guide to Behavior
6. And Yet Another New Science of the Same Old Thing
It Blinded Them with Science
It Takes a Village
Making the Exotic Familiar, and the Familiar Genetic
Waltz of the Pseudohypotheses
What's with the Big Brain, Anyway?
What, Indeed?
7. That's Just about Enough of That
"When Wild in the Woods the Noble Savage Ran"
Steven— You Look as If You've Seen a Ghost
Calm Down; It's Only an Abstraction
Are You Still Here?
What's the Big Deal?
What's the Score So Far?
Some Things We Do Know about the Pleistocene
Going Off Script
Battle of the Sexes?
A Word about Ethnography
8. It's Not That Simple
So What's the Alternative?
Ah, Tradition
Somehow It All Fits
9. What's the Agenda?
Solutions That Cause Problems
The Beat Goes On
Reflections on the Mystique of Science
Notes
Suggestions for Further Reading
Index

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Author Bio
Featured Contributor

Richard J. Perry PhD

Richard J. Perry is professor emeritus of anthropology at St. Lawrence University. He is the author of “Race” and Racism: The Development of Modern Racism in America and From Time Immemorial: Indigenous Peoples and State Systems.
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