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CHAPTER XV

TESTS OF DESIRABLE QUALITIES

UNIFORMITY NOT TO BE AIMED AT

WE have been discussing certain highly undesirable types which are generally well differentiated from the community at large, including criminals, the insane, the feeble-in-mind, and those suffering from certain grievous diseases which tend to run in families; and we have come to the conclusion that such as these should have no offspring. The seeds of these clearly marked defects may, however, lie quite hidden in human beings, though ready to bring forth their evil fruits in future generations; and in such cases all that can be done is to judge by the family history of each individual whether or not parenthood is justifiable in his case. Where these definite and easily recognizable hereditary defects are likely to reappear, there parenthood is to be condemned; but how are we to judge what is the degree of probability which makes this condemnation justifiable? And in this prognosis of the qualities of the unborn, ought we not to take into account such desirable qualities as are likely to appear, and to consider whether they might not more than outweigh the prognosticated demerits? With this object in view, must not the eugenist decide on the exact type of man whose appearance on earth he wishes to promote? Such a picture of the ideal human being ought, perhaps, to be painted in broad outline; but before saying anything on this subject, it may be as well to note that past experience shows that but small benefits are likely to be derived from the building of Utopias. In practice it is better not to look too far ahead, but rather to copy the example set to us by Nature and to strive to advance by one small step

at a time, thus making sure that some racial progress in one direction or another will be made as generation succeeds generation.

One principle which certainly can be laid down in regard to eugenic ideals is that variety of type is preferable to uniformity. We may dream if we like of a Utopia inhabited by beings all alike and all marching towards perfection; but it would be but a dream. As things are, variety will be found to go hand in hand with progress; for if perfect uniformity existed amongst the individuals composing each generation, all men would be advancing in the same direction, if advancing at all; and experience, our best guide, would be entirely wanting as to the benefits or injuries resulting from changes in all other directions. If in Utopia all men could show an equal improvement on their predecessors in all directions, at the present time this is certainly not possible; and differences in natural endowments will make a simultaneous advance in several directions more probable. But if different niches in society will best be filled if all men are not created alike, we yet have to decide how great should be the variety for which we should strive. No doubt we should welcome the promotion of all good qualities, even if they cannot all be promoted in all individuals simultaneously; and the only theoretical limit to our endeavours which can now be formulated is that we should never strive to promote the appearance of useful qualities in one class of human beings in such a way as to increase the degradation of another class. This would, however, only be the result of fostering a good quality in the race if it were necessarily associated with some bad quality; if it were true, for example, that intellect could only be increased in certain directions if it were associated with an increased desire to dominate over others. This condemnation of the creation of one type for the benefit of others will doubtless be rejected in certain quarters; for we must all admit that it would be most convenient always to have at our beck and call some docile human beast of burden. But we consider slavery immoral because of its demoralizing effect on the slave-owner, and on the same grounds we must

MORAL QUALITIES

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put aside all thoughts of creating a servile type of humanity; though in truth my own convictions on this point are based more on moral intuition than on logic.

It is certainly right to be largely guided by the dictates of our moral sense in deciding on our ideal lines of advance in racial matters; but even so we have still to decide on some practicable method of separating the sheep from the goats; and this will be our main difficulty. For however undoubtedly I put moral qualities above all others, I yet have to confess with regret that I have thus far seen no way of directly testing innate moral qualities so that the results could by any possibility be made available in connexion with any schemes for increasing or decreasing human fertility. Moral qualities must for the present be attended to in eugenic reforms by indirect methods.

INTELLIGENCE TESTS

As to the tests of intelligence which might conceivably be made available for eugenic purposes, our attention is naturally first of all directed to the Binet-Simon method, and to the many subsequent modifications thereof. The aim of all these proposals has been to devise a series of questions, which those with bad home conditions and bad education should be able to answer as well as those who are more lucky in these respects, granted an equality in native wit; that is to say, they have been designed to eliminate the element of environment. Considerable success has been obtained in this respect, according to most of the authorities in the United States, a country where great experience has been gained in these matters, largely as the result of the testing of recruits during the The proof that a fair picture of" inherent intellectual possibilities" is thus obtained is held to be found in the fact that a series of tests were devised "in which no linguistic elements entered and which, presumably, made no demand whatever on educational acquirements"; and that the correspondence in the marks obtained by the same men in these tests and in a written series of

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test questions "was remarkably close." On the other hand, I gather that Professor Cyril Burt considers that the results of these tests are considerably influenced by educational and linguistic attainments, and that although we may "provisionally rely upon the Binet-Simon Scale," we are "forced to concede a large allowance to the poorer child before we permit ourselves to accept his weak performance as the sign and seal of mental defect." 2 We may, however, fairly conclude that the results of these tests do at all events give some indication of the different degrees of innate intelligence possessed by those examined.3

TEMPERAMENT AND SCHOLASTIC TESTS

Even if the Binet-Simon type of tests be accepted, as they should be, as being in some degree a guide though hardly as a measure of innate intelligence, it must be admitted that other good mental qualities are almost entirely left out of account by these methods. Indeed, all psychologists agree that if character, disposition or temperament are to be measured, other means must be devised; a path on which a little, though but little, progress has as yet been made. It will be convenient to follow Professor Burt and define temperament as being the sum total of all those individual mental qualities which do not constitute or are not pervaded by intelligence ; in which case under this heading will be included mental vigour or energy, emulation, self-assertion, acquisitiveness and the desire to do right. These qualities are regarded by many

1 Mind and Heredity, Kellogg, 1923, p. 60.

2 Mental and Scholastic Tests, Cyril Burt, 1922, pp. 198, 199, 208.

3 The following reasons have also been given for believing that the results of intelligence tests are correlated with hereditary qualities. The curve of distribution of these results is somewhat similar to that of the measurements of height, etc.; which would be the case if both depended equally on hereditary qualities. The differences between the results of the testing of negroes and whites in America are too persistent and general to be accounted for by environmental differences. Lastly, the intelligence quotients, which depend on the relationship between the actual age and the age as estimated by these tests, are found to be approximately constant through school life, and appear, therefore, to represent an inherent quality rather than the result of some accident or environment.

4

• Psychology Section, British Association, Presidential Address, 1923.

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as being of more importance than intelligence; though the exact meaning of such an assertion is seldom discussed. It is more to the point to note that superior intelligence is by no authority held to be associated with inferior temperamental qualities; and this being granted, it follows that if it were possible to increase the fertility of those who are ranked highly by the Binet-Simon tests, the result would be some improvement in the coming generations in natural intelligence, with at all events no deleterious effects in temperamental qualities. And this would be true however much more highly temperament ought to be rated as compared with intelligence, and however slight may be the association between superior innate intelligence and high rating by these intelligence tests, provided that such an association does exist.1

As to scholastic or educational tests, that is school or college examinations, those scholars who are energetic, persevering and conscientious will make more progress in learning because of these temperamental qualities; and consequently these tests have the advantage of taking temperament to some extent into account. In this connexion it is interesting to learn that juvenile delinquency is associated with bad performances in educational tests to a greater extent than with failures in the intelligence tests. Children are backward or delinquent largely because of "general and specific weakness in mental capacities, irregularity of growth and development, abnormality in emotional tendencies and in qualities of character as a whole "2; and as all these qualities are doubtless associated with innate, defects, we may be certain that the descendants of both delinquent and backward children will be more often delinquent and backward than the offspring of normal parents. But here my point is that if an estimate had to be made of the relative probability of children in any one school becoming criminals, it would seem that educational tests would form a somewhat more reliable guide than would intelligence tests;

1 This would not necessarily be true if bad environment were correlated with good intelligence.

2 Mental Tests, Burt, loc. cit., p. 188.

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