Genetic and environmental factors in human ability : a symposium held by the Eugenics Society in September-October 1965 / edited by J.E. Meade, A.S. Parkes.

Date:
[1966]
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Credit: Genetic and environmental factors in human ability : a symposium held by the Eugenics Society in September-October 1965 / edited by J.E. Meade, A.S. Parkes. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    This volume contains a report of the proceedings of tiie second of a series of symposia held by the Eugenics Society, with the object of bringing together experts from the various fields of genetics, physiology, psychology and other branches of the social sciences to promote an exchange of ideas. The general theme of this symposium, held in October 1965, was the need for fresh thinking about some of the more vital aspects of our educational system. The traditionally accepted validity of various educational concepts such as the streaming of pupils, the criteria of selection for higher education and others were called into question, and the reasons for doing so examined. A particularly strong case was made for a better understanding of the purely physical causes of mental subnormality. In connection with this, valuable biological infor¬ mation was given about brain damage, genetic handicaps and diseases, especially those which cannot be detected at birth, with methods of controlling and remedying them. Various other related topics, such as the heritability of intelligence, the importance of parent-child communication, the influence of home back¬ ground and the genetic consequences of selection pressure were also discussed. The conference demonstrated that genetic and biological factors are responsible to a considerable extent for many problems hitherto thought of as purely social ones. The papers leave one with the impression that the com¬ bination of these two disciplines may be a particularly rewarding one. J. E. Meade is Professor of Political Economy and Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge. A. S. Parkes is Mary Marshall Professor of the Physiology of Reproduction and Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge. net price 57s 6d