Biological Determinism

Biological determinism is the object of this book's attention. This is the belief that intelligence can be accounted for by biology and that a particular group's fate is determined by biology.

Ancient Greece

The book opens with a scene from ancient Greece, with Plato giving his opinion about the nature-nurture question.

Sweden

Sweden is the home of Gunnar Mrydal and the place where his studies took place. Mrydal was active in the biological determinism movement in the 1940s.

Harvard University

Harvard is where Louis Agassiz taught. Agassiz was the leading theorist of the American movement for polygenism.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the home of Samuel George Morton who did empirical work on polygenism by measuring skulls in the mid eighteen hundreds.

Ellis Island

Ellis Island, in New York harbor, was a place of entry for immigrants. It was also a place where some immigrants were selected...