Should Some Knowledge Be Forbidden?: The Case of Cognitive Differences Research

For centuries scientists have claimed that women are intellectually inferior to men and blacks are inferior to whites. Although these claims have been contested and corrected for centuries, they still continue to be made. Meanwhile, scientists have documented the harm done to women and blacks by the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Philosophy of science 2016-12, Vol.83 (5), p.779-790
Main Author: Kourany, Janet A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cognition & reasoning
Gender
Philosophy of science
Racial differences
Racial differentiation
Scientists
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Summary:For centuries scientists have claimed that women are intellectually inferior to men and blacks are inferior to whites. Although these claims have been contested and corrected for centuries, they still continue to be made. Meanwhile, scientists have documented the harm done to women and blacks by the publication of such claims. Can anything be done to improve this situation? Freedom of research is universally recognized to be of first-rate importance. Yet, constraints on that freedom are also universally recognized. I consider three of these constraints and argue for tighter restrictions on race- and gender-related cognitive differences research on their basis.
ISSN:0031-8248
1539-767X
DOI:10.1086/687863