Skip Navigation

The Daily Dish - 2006-2011 archives for The Daily Dish, featuring Andrew Sullivan

Race and IQ

By The Daily Dish
Nov 2 2007, 7:30 AM ET

The issue won't go away. Are Jews genetically smarter than other races ethnicities genealogical communities with connected DNA? Will Saletan tackles the question:

The average IQ of Ashkenazi Jews is 107 to 115, well above the human average of 100. This gap and the genetic theories surrounding it stirred discomfort in the room. Zoloth, speaking for many liberals, recalled a family member's revulsion at the idea of a Jewish race. Judaism is about faith and values, she argued. To reduce it to biology is to make it exclusive, denying its openness to all. Worse, to suggest that Jews are genetically smart is to imply that non-Jews are inherently inferior, in violation of Jewish commitments to equality and compassion...

But what if Judaism as a genetic inheritance is compatible with Judaism as a cultural inheritance? And what if the genes that make Jews smart also make them sick? If one kind of superiority comes at the price of another kind of inferiority, and if the transmission of Jewish values drives the transmission of Jewish genes, does that make the genetics and the superiority easier to swallow?

I like the fact that asking these kinds of questions is also part of the Jewish inheritance. But the Blank Slaters will have their usual cow.



Presented by

More at The Atlantic

Death by Flavored Vodka Death by Flavored Vodka
Why Does Maine Have a Two-and-a-Half-Month Caucus? Mitt Romney Wins Maine's Two-and-a-Half-Month Caucus
The Truth About income Inequality in America The Truth About Income Inequality in America
The Implications of the Military Opening More Positions to Women The Implications of Adding More Women to Our Armed Forces
What Do Republican Voters See in Rick Santorum? What Do Republican Voters See in Rick Santorum?
Special Report
Election 2012 Reuters Election 2012
The destination for full politics coverage, from the primaries to the White House. Read more ›
View All Correspondents

The Biggest Story in Photos

The Civil War, Part 3: The Stereographs

Feb 10, 2012

Subscribe Now

SAVE 59%! 10 issues JUST $2.45 PER COPY

Facebook

Newsletters

Sign up to receive our free newsletters

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)