Anthropology 480
Dr. Erickson
10/15/2017
Take-Home Essay 2
1. Biological determinism is the idea that an individual’s behavior is determined by their
biological characteristics. These traits are passed down from parent to offspring and supposedly
affect the brain size, conduct, and other genetic traits. It is the opposite of cultural determinism
which suggests that the environment controls the behavior of people (Encyclopedia.com 2016).
Biological determinism has been used widely throughout the years by scientists to justify
wrong-doings, such as scientific racism and intelligence testing. H. H. Goddard played a
prominent role in doing just that, while working as a research director at the Vineland Training
School for Feeble-Minded Boys and Girls. He did something that Gould describes in his book,
The Mismeausre of Man, as somewhat of a justification through the use of taxonomy. Goddard
coined the term, “moron,” to describe people that scored below the average on the Binet test.
Although, unlike Binet, Goddard used the results from the tests to characterize and treat these so-
called morons in a demeaning way. More specifically, he believed in segregating them, as well
as halting reproduction of the “endangered American stock” (Gould 1981).
It’s no doubt that Goddard was influenced by the theory of biological determinism, which
was unintentionally rooted from the works of Gregor Mendel and Charles Darwin. It is clear that
biologists in this time period naïvely misinterpreted the findings of these two men. Mendel’s
experiments with peas were taken so seriously, that even the most complex parts of the body and
mind were thought to be passed on by single genes. Goddard, specifically, deemed feeble-
mindedness as a single gene that was passed down by parents, and would undoubtedly be present
in the offspring. Darwin’s theories on natural selection and evolution gave way for scientific
racism in that it promoted the separation of races within humans, and suggested that certain races
had not developed in the way others had, such as Europeans (Gould 1981).
2. During the early to mid 1800’s, the American school of science began to place a heavier
focus on biology. Scholars were starting to further speculate on the origins of humanity, and how
those origins shaped the roles of humans at that time (Gould 1981).
Polygeny, a theory which claimed that humans of different races had different geneses,
was a very influential doctrine in this time period. At a time where slavery was still alive and
well in the United States, this theory became popularized quickly. The Polygeny theory was
ultimately a foundational excuse for the disgusting treatment of African Americans, as well as
many other minorities, at this time (Gould 1981).
Louis Agassiz and Samuel George Morton were arguably the two most prominent
advocates of polygeny, using theory and data to support their beliefs. Gould provides profound
evidence which proves Morton had hidden motives and manipulated data to convince the public
that his studies demonstrated these theories of polygeny. Gould, however, doesn’t implicate
Agassiz in the same manner, revealing rather, that Agassiz, although harboring inbred racist
beliefs, nonetheless seemed to have struggled as those beliefs conflicted with his religious piety
(Gould 1981).
When Agassiz encountered his first black man, he was so repulsed at what he
experienced, that he concluded that the black race could not possibly have emanated from the
same race as himself. In short, he was referring to this “negro’s” hands, hair, lips, and basic
mannerisms, as being so alien to that of the Caucasians, he could not help but place this man and
Dr. Erickson
10/15/2017
Take-Home Essay 2
1. Biological determinism is the idea that an individual’s behavior is determined by their
biological characteristics. These traits are passed down from parent to offspring and supposedly
affect the brain size, conduct, and other genetic traits. It is the opposite of cultural determinism
which suggests that the environment controls the behavior of people (Encyclopedia.com 2016).
Biological determinism has been used widely throughout the years by scientists to justify
wrong-doings, such as scientific racism and intelligence testing. H. H. Goddard played a
prominent role in doing just that, while working as a research director at the Vineland Training
School for Feeble-Minded Boys and Girls. He did something that Gould describes in his book,
The Mismeausre of Man, as somewhat of a justification through the use of taxonomy. Goddard
coined the term, “moron,” to describe people that scored below the average on the Binet test.
Although, unlike Binet, Goddard used the results from the tests to characterize and treat these so-
called morons in a demeaning way. More specifically, he believed in segregating them, as well
as halting reproduction of the “endangered American stock” (Gould 1981).
It’s no doubt that Goddard was influenced by the theory of biological determinism, which
was unintentionally rooted from the works of Gregor Mendel and Charles Darwin. It is clear that
biologists in this time period naïvely misinterpreted the findings of these two men. Mendel’s
experiments with peas were taken so seriously, that even the most complex parts of the body and
mind were thought to be passed on by single genes. Goddard, specifically, deemed feeble-
mindedness as a single gene that was passed down by parents, and would undoubtedly be present
in the offspring. Darwin’s theories on natural selection and evolution gave way for scientific
racism in that it promoted the separation of races within humans, and suggested that certain races
had not developed in the way others had, such as Europeans (Gould 1981).
2. During the early to mid 1800’s, the American school of science began to place a heavier
focus on biology. Scholars were starting to further speculate on the origins of humanity, and how
those origins shaped the roles of humans at that time (Gould 1981).
Polygeny, a theory which claimed that humans of different races had different geneses,
was a very influential doctrine in this time period. At a time where slavery was still alive and
well in the United States, this theory became popularized quickly. The Polygeny theory was
ultimately a foundational excuse for the disgusting treatment of African Americans, as well as
many other minorities, at this time (Gould 1981).
Louis Agassiz and Samuel George Morton were arguably the two most prominent
advocates of polygeny, using theory and data to support their beliefs. Gould provides profound
evidence which proves Morton had hidden motives and manipulated data to convince the public
that his studies demonstrated these theories of polygeny. Gould, however, doesn’t implicate
Agassiz in the same manner, revealing rather, that Agassiz, although harboring inbred racist
beliefs, nonetheless seemed to have struggled as those beliefs conflicted with his religious piety
(Gould 1981).
When Agassiz encountered his first black man, he was so repulsed at what he
experienced, that he concluded that the black race could not possibly have emanated from the
same race as himself. In short, he was referring to this “negro’s” hands, hair, lips, and basic
mannerisms, as being so alien to that of the Caucasians, he could not help but place this man and
