re: Anthropology: Claude Levi-Strauss, 1908-2009 (Alain de Benoist, France)

Alain de Benoist writes:

I am very pleased that there was at least one WAISer, David Westbrook (8 November), to send a comment to mark Claude Lévi-Strauss’s death. I also appreciate learning that the first book published by David was illustrated by the Belgian Surrealist Paul Delvaux, an artist I like very much.

David wrote that he was never sure how seriously Lévi-Strauss took science, including his own, and that “his structuralism [became] the target of post-structuralist critiques.”

On 8 October 1991, Lévi-Strauss gave an interview to the daily newspaper Le Monde, where he expressed the opinion that social sciences, compared to “hard” sciences, “are sciences only as the result of a flattering deception” (“par une flatteuse imposture”). The reason, he explained, is that the realities that the social sciences try to know and to understand “have the same level of complexity as the intellectual means used to catch them”–while the objects of the “hard” sciences are generally less complex than the means used by the mind to understand them.

Lévi-Strauss is mainly known for his book Tristes tropiques, which attracted a large general readership. However, his most important work is Les structures élémentaires de la parenté (1949). In his works on race, he criticized racism as well as antiracism. He described his method as “structural analysis,” which explains why he was so frequently labelled a “structuralist.” However, he never recognized himself fully in “structuralism,” especially in philosophical structuralism (Barthes, Derrida, etc.), which was always very foreign to him. He was nearer to the so-called “structuralism” of the famous Indo-Europeanist Georges Dumézil (who discovered in the 1930s the functional character of the “tripartite ideology” of the Indo-Europeans). When Dumézil, who was his friend (and mine), was elected to the Académie française, he was officially “received” by Lévi-Strauss.

Claude Lévi-Strauss was also the only social anthropologist or ethnologist ever elected to the Académie française.

JE comments: And as I understand it, Lévi-Strauss was also the only member of the Académie ever to reach the age of 100.

re: Anthropology: Claude Levi-Strauss, 1908-2009 (David Westbrook, US)

David Westbrook writes, on the death (30 October) of anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss:

The news that Levi-Strauss has died arrives like an announcement that
Merlin has died. On the one hand, we had so long heard his name, many of
us assumed that he was already dead. On the other hand, for those of us
who knew he was still alive, he was already so old, certainly in the
pantheon, as good as immortal–actually dying seemed rather
superfluous. But at the age of 100, surely that means something?

L-S was a giant. Alain de Benoist pointed out that he valorized particular
cultures, the various modalities of humanity that are the forte of the
anthropologist. True enough, but the opposite is equally true: L-S also
insisted on “the human” that underlay all cultures–perhaps to be
articulated in structuralist terms. This more universalist and
“scientific” (although I was never sure how seriously L-S took science,
including his own–very French, that) tendency, in fact, was what made
his structuralism the target of post-structuralist critiques. Of course,
it was these very same critiques that guaranteed L-S his place in the
pantheon, i.e., the rebellion of the next generation proved L-S was a
cultural figure.

Looking back, with some distance now, I think it was really important to
insist, particularly in the years after WWII, in which the French had
acquitted themselves badly and the Germans horrifically, even while the
U.S. and the USSR threatened to blow everything up, on the human as
such. L-S reminds me, in this regard, of Faulkner–a great spirit in
dark days.

To repeat myself, L-S was a giant. My education was woefully inadequate
in this regard, but giants are hard to avoid, and so, over the years, I
kept running into L-S, stumbling over him. After a while, the accidental
(for me) character of L-S’s work and especially influence became
amusing. My first published book was illustrated with paintings by the
Belgian Surrealist Paul Delvaux, whose work seemed very apt for what I
was trying to say. It emerged that L-S was a big fan, who wrote the
Preface to a major edition of Delvaux’s works. The man who taught me
most of what I know about securities law, a great lawyer who should have
been an anthropologist, turned out to have been a serious student of L-S.
And an overly generous critic did me the great honor of saying that my
understanding of anthropology reminded him of anthropology in the age of
L-S (he didn’t actually compare my work favorably to Claude’s, but we
were in the same sentence, and that’s good enough for me). My pamphlet
was supposed to go to the great one this year, but that didn’t happen. I
won’t deny fantasizing about having a blurb from Claude on the second
edition. You get the point: here there be giants.

And now this giant is gone. And that is worth some thanks for a truly
notable life, perhaps a prayer, certainly a log on the fire on a
November evening, and a toast.

JE comments: Very poetically stated. In 2009 the world has lost many giants, but Levi-Strauss was one of the biggest.

By his “pamphlet,” David Westbrook is referring to his sweeping reflection on anthropology today, Navigators of the Contemporary: Why Ethnography Matters. All WAISers should read it.

Anthropology: Death of Claude Levi-Strauss (Alain de Benoist, France)

Yesterday I asked Alain de Benoist off-Forum for his thoughts on the death of Claude Levi-Strauss, the “father of modern anthropology,” who died on 30 October at the age of 100. Alain writes:

Claude Lévi-Strauss’s death was not unexpected, as he was 100 years old. He was certainly the last of the “big” French theoreticians of the post-WWII period. I liked very much his writings (actually, I published an article by him in one of the journals I edit). Most of his works were dedicated to defending the diversity of peoples, races and cultures against ethnocentrism and against any kind of political and cultural universalism. He is considered a “classic” in the University. Many articles about his life and works will appear in the media.

JE comments: Levi-Strauss was a titan in the fields of critical theory and cultural studies, whose works (Tristes Tropiques, The Raw and the Cooked, etc.) were mandatory reading for graduate students in the Humanities. We used to joke about his “other” job, that of jeans manufacturer…

Many, many luminaries of the twentieth century have passed away in 2009. Claude Levi-Strauss was one of the greatest.

re: Anthropology: on Sexual Abstinence Today (Robert Whealey, US)

Robert Whealey writes:

Randy Black (9 May) adds to my assumptions about age, district and
generation when he writes that in Texas, abstinence is the “preferred
option.” I would imagine that this is the case in most of the US among the
teachers themselves.

In Long Island New York (1948), condoms were known but not glorified in
class. Druggists sold them under the table. A boy 12-18 might be refused.
It was up to the druggist’s discretion to sell or not. I never heard of the
word Lesbian until I went to collage. Students in the 8th grade were segregated
into M and F. In our course the male teacher had a question box on the
front desk. Periodically he would read the anonymous notes. One note in
six months during one course brought 30 guys to vociferous laughter. But
for the most part boys were curious, respectful and quiet.

Times have indeed changed. A few years ago I had to inform a Presbyterian
Minister that word “gay” was invented in the Stone Wall Bar, Greenwich
Village, in 1969.

The press and TV on the other hand tell us that all kids are engaging in
free sex, homosexual, bisexual and heterosexual behavior. Everybody is
having a “gay” old time. Drugs and alcohol go along with the sex. There
are no virgins left by graduation time. Apparently, “morality” is the
taboo word in the NYT. I agree with Randy that journalist Collins
was probably naive about history, statistical sociology and biology. I do
not think she was a Texas-basher. Most of the BA journalists take American
fiction as a cognate. Not science or history.

JE comments: Language changes, like the times themselves. I wonder how many pharmacists still call themselves “druggists”? Regarding today’s kids, I don’t see them as any different than they were in “my” day, the 1980s. If anything, they are more respectful of their parents’ wishes than we were–cell phones and texting serve as an extended umbilical cord back to Mom and Dad.

Speaking of which, Happy Mother’s Day to all WAISers! I’m going to call Mom in an hour or so.

–

For information about the World Association of International Studies
(WAIS), and its online publication, the World Affairs Report, read its
homepage by simply double-clicking on: http://wais.stanford.edu/

John Eipper, Editor-in-Chief, Adrian College, MI 49221 USA

re: Anthropology: on Sexual Abstinence Today (Bienvenido Macario, Philippines/US)

Bienvenido Macario responds to David Pike’s post of 8 May:

This story came out on Friday. It seems fundamentalist Christians and Muslims have a lot in common.
I wonder how many schools across the country are still as conservative as the Heritage Christian School in
Ohio?

**************

Ohio Christian school tells student to skip prom

Friday, May 8, 2009

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090508/ap_on_re_us/us_school_dance_flap

FINDLAY, Ohio–A student at a fundamentalist Baptist school that forbids dancing, rock music, hand-holding and kissing will be suspended if he takes his girlfriend to her public high school prom, his principal said.

Despite the warning, 17-year-old Tyler Frost, who has never been to a dance before, said he plans to attend Findlay High School’s prom Saturday.

Frost, a senior at Heritage Christian School in northwest Ohio, agreed to the school’s rules when he signed a statement of cooperation at the beginning of the year, principal Tim England said.

The teen, who is scheduled to receive his diploma May 24, would be suspended from classes and receive an “incomplete” on remaining assignments, England said. Frost also would not be permitted to attend graduation but would get a diploma once he completes final exams. If Frost is involved with alcohol or sex at the prom, he will be expelled, England said.

Frost’s stepfather Stephan Johnson said the school’s rules should not apply outside the classroom.

“He deserves to wear that cap and gown,” Johnson said.

Frost said he thought he had handled the situation properly. Findlay requires students from other schools attending the prom to get a signature from their principal, which Frost did.

“I expected a short lecture about making the right decisions and not doing something stupid,” Frost said. “I thought I would get his signature and that would be the end.”

England acknowledged signing the form but warned Frost there would be consequences if he attended the dance. England then took the issue to a school committee made up of church members, who decided to threaten Frost with suspension.

“In life, we constantly make decisions whether we are going to please self or please God. (Frost) chose one path, and the school committee chose the other,” England said.

The handbook for the 84-student Christian school says rock music “is part of the counterculture which seeks to implant seeds of rebellion in young people’s hearts and minds.”

England said Frost’s family should not be surprised by the school’s position.

“For the parents to claim any injustice regarding this issue is at best forgetful and at worst disingenuous,” he said. “It is our hope that the student and his parents will abide by the policies they have already agreed to.”

The principal at Findlay High School, whose graduates include Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, said he respects, but does not agree with, Heritage Christian School’s view of prom.

“I don’t see (dancing and rock music) as immoral acts,” Craig Kupferberg said.

JE comments: Findlay, which bills itself as “Flag City USA,” is about 75 minutes south of Adrian. I drive through/past it occasionally (such as a week ago on our way back from Indiana). According to Wikipedia, it was the first city in the US to offer touch-tone telephone service (1960).

–

For information about the World Association of International Studies
(WAIS), and its online publication, the World Affairs Report, read its
homepage by simply double-clicking on: http://wais.stanford.edu/

John Eipper, Editor-in-Chief, Adrian College, MI 49221 USA

re: Anthropology: on Sexual Abstinence Today (Robert Whealey, US)

Robert Whealey responds to David Pike’s post of 8 May:

What is important about David Pike’s observation of the NYT
report on sex education is his age. My son would have had an entirely
different reaction. I am of David Pike’s generation. I agree that the
Texan school teachers, like teachers in most states, work in public schools
run by hedonist teachers. At college they learned more about sex by
watching bad TV and talking to their uninformed peers than following any
Christian code.

In 1948, when I graduated from High School, babies born out of wedlock and
kids who contracted venereal disease were both taboos. The school had
“communities” of Methodists, Catholics, Jews, etc., which had code that
publicly advocated virginity.

How many 16-18 year olds had engaged in sexual intercourse was confidential.
The boys heard rumors about 3 or 4 loose women. I was in a college entrance
program. My guess is that few of the football players were virgins. Today
the Christian and Jewish sex codes are laughed at by TV novelists and
playwrights. In 1948 the movies were censored by the Hays code.

This Judeo-Christian morality was destroyed by the Vietnam War and the
invention of a female birth control pill in the US. After Franco’s death,
the US mass media undermined the cult of the virgin in Madrid. I do not know
whether pre-marital sex codes after 18 still survive in Andalusia or not.

JE comments: Hedonist teachers?

–

For information about the World Association of International Studies
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John Eipper, Editor-in-Chief, Adrian College, MI 49221 USA

re: Anthropology: on Sexual Abstinence Today (Steve Torok, Thailand)

Steve Torok responds to David Pike’s post of 8 May:

There may be a mathematical solution in terms of network and chaos theory to this problem: the “strange attractor” that stabilizes in modern behavioral patterns depends on the parameters of micro choices at individual level. In subnetworks (small communities), these can lead to stabilized behavioral patterns different than the entropic lowest common denominator of the large community. Thus Cordoba and Siberia, as referred to by David Pike. It is an open question whether the large community equilibrium can be reversed or not. It depends whether the micro parameters at the individual decision level can be changed or not, and whether we are clever enough to change them in the right direction. Once all the fireflies flash together, they stay together till they die in the tropical night. Can you educate fireflies?

–

For information about the World Association of International Studies
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John Eipper, Editor-in-Chief, Adrian College, MI 49221 USA

re: Anthropology: on Sexual Abstinence Today (Randy Black, US)

Randy Black (a Texan) responds to David Pike’s post of 8 May:

That a columnist for the New York Times would make the false claim that virtually all Texas schools teach abstinence only is not particularly surprising considering the columnist’s ability to accept verbatim someone else’s claims without doing her own research, coupled with the paper’s habit of Texas-bashing.

Naturally, the NYT columnist Collins was dead wrong. While I applaud Texas State University professor Wiley’s ability to gain attention for this important topic and issue, I condemn columnist Collins for what she overlooked, either by accident, or by design.

Let’s start with the facts: Teen pregnancy rates in the USA are down 36 percent since 1990, even in Texas. Partially, as a resulting benefit, teen abortions are down 50 percent over this period.

Whether or not professor Wiley, a professor at a second-tier small town university claimed that Texas is a teen pregnancy disaster zone depends upon who is claiming what. Or as Professor Hilton commented once, “it depends upon whose bull got gored.”

The NYT article does not address whether the teens, which includes 18-19 year old young adults, may be married or not or aborted. But in this day of declining readership and layoffs at all US daily rags, I can understand the columnist’s eagerness to overlook what used to be management’s expectation for factual reporting.

Certainly, teen pregnancy is concerning, but Texas comes in 2nd or 6th among the states (depending upon what poll you read) in these matters so I assume that at least four or five other states have a higher degree of disaster.

I suppose the writer from the NYT believes that bashing Texas will attract more readers than perhaps pointing out that New Mexico, Nevada, Arkansas, Mississippi or Georgia may have higher teen pregnancy rates. Each of the other named states has higher teen pregnancy rates according to one poll (cited below). But on the ongoing emphasis to “influence” Web search engines, “Texas” will certainly lead readers to a story more often statistically than perhaps Nevada or Mississippi. It’s called SEO, or Search Engine Optimization to those who are Internet-challenged as I used to be.

Back to the facts: In 2006, for instance, Texas was number two behind California. And New York, Florida, Arizona and Illinois follow Texas. But you would not sell as many papers or generate as many Web site hits with a story that emphasized nearly any other state’s records, I suppose.

While the teaching of abstinence is the preferred teaching tool among many Texas school districts, it is by no means exclusive. But look at the record of declining pregnancy rates before you condemn it, as I do. As I do, I repeat.

In fact, Phyllis Simpson, director of health and physical education for the Texas Education Agency, said that although the state teaches human sexuality in its health curriculum, each of Texas’s nearly 1,040 school systems is allowed to determine what curriculum is used or if they will teach it at all. However, under state law, schools that teach sex education must stress abstinence as the “preferred option.”

Additionally, the teen pregnancy rate in Texas’s largest counties such as Bexar (San Antonio) has been trending downward for 19 years. The NYT columnist did not tell us that, did she?

By the way, the 2010 federal budget recently offered by the President slashed the national funding for abstinence-only sex education according to the Wall Street Journal. Only 25 percent of the 164 million dollar budget can apply to abstinence-only education. Bravo to President Obama.

I wish that I could say that I expect better of the columnists for the NYT, but alas, I do not.

Sources: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/102908.php

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/Growing_coalition_taking_on_teen_pregnancy.html

http://www.sph.uth.tmc.edu/uploadedFiles/Centers/TPRC/PRCnewsletterV4I1.pdf

http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/real-time-blog

http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/2006/09/12/USTPstats.pdf

http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/2006/09/12/USTPstats.pdf

JE comments: A very passionate condemnation of Texas-bashing. WAISers know that despite my Yankee longhair appearance, I spend a lot of time in Texas and have family there (my only sister). During the years of High Bushism, approximately 2000-2004, Texas in the popular imagination had come to embody “true American” values. Rather than the Americanization of Texas, we were witnessing the Texification of America. I sense that present-day anti-Texas sentiment is a backlash to this–a combination of Bush fatigue and the crisis-era trending of the US government towards “big government” thinking and policies.

–

For information about the World Association of International Studies
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Anthropology: on Sexual Abstinence Today (David Pike, France)

David Pike writes:

The New York Times columnist Gail Collins reports that in Texas “virtually all the schools teach abstinence and abstinence alone.” She adds: “Texas is a teen pregnancy disaster zone,” and cites David Wiley, Professor of Health Education at Texas State University: “It’s had one of the highest rates for as long as I can remember.”

If abstinence is a good, and I prefer it to its opposite, how is it to be inculcated into the young? Not, it would seem, by decree, or from the pulpit, or from the teacher’s desk. It can survive only by cultural tradition, or by the sense of personal belonging to a community, or through an inner spiritual joy. So where to find it within our Western culture? I once lived in Andalusia, where foreigners like myself very rarely aspired to a noviazgo. The first requirement of the foreigner was to accept the system. I did, and it has affected my life ever since. As I understand it, the world that moves forever forward has included Cordoba in its forward movement. But does not the concept of abstinence still survive, at least in the smaller towns and villages?

And where else can it be found within our Western culture? I call Siberia a part of our Western culture, and I have friends from Altai State. They have convinced me that their culture closely resembles that of the Cordoba I knew. Are those who cling to this belief simply living in denial, or do such communities still exist? Which is a way of saying: How does Jane Austen play in Barnaul?

JE comments: Excellent questions. I don’t know Córdoba well, or Siberia, but the “New Spain” strikes me as a nation that abandoned its culture of abstinence a generation ago. Given David Pike’s references to both Texas and Siberia, his posting is tailor-made for a response from Randy Black. What appears clear to me is that Texas should try a different approach to sex ed.

–

For information about the World Association of International Studies
(WAIS), and its online publication, the World Affairs Report, read its
homepage by simply double-clicking on: http://wais.stanford.edu/

John Eipper, Editor-in-Chief, Adrian College, MI 49221 USA

–

re: Anthropology: on Robin Fox’s Essay (Alain de Benoist, France)

Alain de Benoist writes:

Richard Hancock (9 September) wrote: “The winning of the West was an
American imperialism, but who among us really wishes to return to the
Stone Age civilization of the Native Americans or to the medieval
society of Spanish colonialism? Does anyone want to return to a
society that had an average life span of only 27 years?”

Richard’s eulogy of progress (a very problematic notion) looks to me a
bit naive. All historical changes bring new things, among them there
is always the better and the worse. It would be only too easy to make
a list of the disadvantages and defects of “progress,” in contrast to
its supposed advantages.

By the way, the (frequently heard) story that, in former times, the
average life span was “of only 27 years” cannot be taken seriously.
That kind of number is only obtained by taking into account the rate
of birth and perinatal deaths which was very high (but the families
had also much more children). People who survived the early infancy
stage lived almost as old as today. Oral traditions, literary
narratives, historical descriptions, testimonies, etc. prove beyond
any doubt that very old people were not at all infrequent even in
Antiquity.

–
For information about the World Association of International Studies
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John Eipper, Editor-in-Chief, Adrian College, MI 49221 USA

re: Anthropology: on Robin Fox’s Essay (Richard Hancock, US)

Richard Hancock comments on the Robin Fox essay, “The Kindness of
Strangers,” forwarded by Henry Levin on 4 September:

I think that Robin Fox’s article is far too pesimistic. This doesn’t
surprise me because anthropologists are great defenders of tribal
cultures. Where a practical person might see that a culture could
make progress by joining the mainstream, the anthropologist is
determined to save the tribal culture at all costs. I have been
retired for 22 years, so I may be out of date on the current attitudes
of today’s anthropologists, but I have seen no evidence that
anthropologists have abandoned their innate conservatism. My old
Stanford Hispanic Studies colleague, Charles Gauld, was critical of
Anthropology’s exclusive focus on “Village Trivia,” while making no
effort to apply their findings toward meaningful change. Progress
means change. Modernization requires that people abandon some old
ways. Daniel Boorstin in his history of the U.S., stated that U.S.
development was possible because immigrants were able to leave “the
terrible absolutes of Europe behind.” These “terrible absolutes”
referred to European nationalism (i.e. tribalism).

Admittedly, leaving these tribal absolutes behind is tough. I believe
that Iraq may be successful in this if they are able to achieve
economic progress. The winning of the west was an American
imperialism, but who among us really wishes to return to the Stone Age
civilization of the Native Americans or to the medieval society of
Spanish colonialism? Does anyone want to return to a society that had
an average life span of only 27 years? The U.S. brought the Industrial
Revolution to the west and anacronistic tribal societies there could
not stand against this modernizing force.

I have a great appreciation of the Hipanic culture and am saddened to
find young Hispanics who can’t speak Spanish. My wife and I are in
total agreement that our ability to speak Spanish has greatly enriched
our lives, but, in cultures, we must seek the golden mean of
preserving their essential elements but not those that bar progress.
Moreover, Fox’s statement that Latin America is a mess is a gross
overstatement. Among countries that are making progress in Latin
America are Chile, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Uruguay and all of
Central America except Nicaragua.

JE comments: I definitely agree with Richard Hancock’s last
paragraph, and have dedicated my life to stamping out Spanish
illiteracy!

I would point out, however, that we can often learn a great deal from
“Village Trivia”–and not all of it is trivial.

–
For information about the World Association of International Studies
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John Eipper, Editor-in-Chief, Adrian College, MI 49221 USA

RE: The origin of man (Jordi Molins, Spain)

Alain de Benoist (AB) said: Exactly like Neanderthals got their physical specificities while in Europe, the Homo sapiens sapiens who came to live in Europe also got their physical (and psychical) specificities in Europe. Jordi Molins (JM) replies: Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens are different species. Homo sapiens sapiens living in different locations are the same species. In fact, a small population of 20 primates in East Africa have bigger genetic diversity than the whole human population. In other words: human beings are very similar to each other, except for a few external differences in “soft materials”.

For this reason, stating “Exactly like Neanderthals got their physical specificities while in Europe, the Homo sapiens sapiens who came to live in Europe also got their physical (and psychical) specificities in Europe.” is comparing oranges with apples: Homo sapiens sapiens living in Europe are the same species (and very similar) to Homo sapiens sapiens living in other parts of the Earth. Instead, Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens Sapiens were completely different species.

AB: The idea that the Neanderthals were “exterminated” by the newcomers can also be questioned.Till now, it is only an hypothesis among others. Nobody knows exactly the reasons for the disappearance of the Neanderthals.

JM: When I wrote that we, the Africans, exterminated the Neanderthals (ie, the Europeans), I meant that Neanderthals disappeared in a very short period of time while there were Homo Sapiens Sapiens and Neanderthals competing for the same land. It could be that we just killed them, or that we were more intelligent, or that we had a mortal virus/bacteria for them, or anything. It is not clear how they disappeared. It is not even clear if we were more intelligent than them or not. What is clear is that we are more social than them, and this could be the big advantage.

AB: Nobody knows either if the Neanderthals interbred (massively or marginally) or not with the newcomers.

JM: I am not an expert in genetics, but I think it is clear now in the scientific community that we do not have Neanderthal genes. We did not interbreed (although probably some couples had sexual intercourses).

AB; Finally, the Out of Africa theory is also still under discussion. Many recent findings, especially in Asia, contradict this theory. Some scientists think that the Sapiens sapiens species resulted from local evolutions of the Erectus type. See for example Milford H. Wolpoff, Paleoanthropology (2nd ed., McGraw-Hill, New York 1999), and his various articles published in American Anthropologist, American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Molecular Biology and Evolution, Evolution, Science, and so on. Paleoanthropology is a very complex discipline.

JM: By definition, any scientific theory is under discussion. But I think it is clear that the majority of the scientific community believes the Out of Africa theory is a better representation of reality than any other proposed hypothesis.

AB: Stressing the importance of “randomness” does not mean much, except if one considers that mutations that cause selective processes are originally hazardous (change of local populations due to selective pressions and genetic drift is certainly a better explanation than “randomness” of the fact that Persia, Mesopotamia or Egypt had strong civilizations in the past but not now.

JM: I did not mean “randomness” in this sense. I meant randomness in the following way: many scientific theories (in the hard sciences) are able to represent, explain and even sometimes predict a part of the reality with a model, ie a simplification of the reality. This model consists usually of a few variables (in the example of IQ, it could be the latitude, or coldness of the country).

However, in the soft sciences, this approach is very often not feasible. The reason is that modelling human behaviour usually cannot be represented with a few variables. In fact, if we could have ALL information, we could represent, explain and predict reality (except if we reach the quantum level: there randomness is unavoidable) But getting all this information is usually impossible or, at least, unfeasible.

It is my gut feeling that predicting when a given society is going to be better or worse in the future than another society is impossible, at least with a few variables, like coldness or latitude. Maybe I am wrong, and some day some scientist will prove that we are determined, as societies, by a few variables, but I ssuspect that this is not true.

In addition, I repeat that the “coldness” hypothesis does not explain why Mesopotamia, Persia, Crete, Greece, Phoenicia, Rome, … were located in warm locations and not in cold locations. In fact, a more reasonable hypothesis could be that Mediterraneans (especially the eastern ones) are superior to other human beings, and that superiority diffuses with distance to the eastern Mediterranean. Of course, I do not believe that, but evidence would support better that claim than the “coldness” hypothesis.

Plan to attend the WAIS conference on “Critical World Issues ” at Stanford July 31-August 1, 2006. It will be a rare opportunity to meet other WAISers. Tell interested friends.
Ronald Hilton, Editor, 2006

The origin of man (Alain de Benoist, France)

Jordi Molins wrote: “We are “Africans” because our ancestors (the ones that exterminated the Neanderthals) got their physical specificities while in Africa”. Alain de Benoist counters;Actually, few anthropologists would subscribe to such an opinion. Exactly like Neanderthals got their physical specificities while in Europe, the Homo sapiens sapiens who came to live in Europe also got their physical (and psychical) specificities in Europe. The idea that the Neanderthals were “exterminated” by the newcomers can also be questioned. Till now, it is only an hypothesis among others. Nobody knows exactly the reasons for the disappearance of the Neanderthals. Nobody knows either if the Neanderthals interbred (massively or marginally) or not with the newcomers. Finally, the Out of Africa theory is also still under discussion. Many recent findings, especially in Asia, contradict this theory. Some scientists think that the Sapiens sapiens species resulted from local evolutions of the Erectus type. See for example Milford H. Wolpoff, Paleoanthropology (2nd ed., McGraw-Hill, New York 1999), and his various articles published in American Anthropologist, American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Molecular Biology and Evolution, Evolution, Science, and so on. Paleoanthropology is a very complex discipline. Stressing the importance of “randomness” does not mean much, except if one considerx that mutations that cause selective processes are originally hazardous (change of local populations due to selective pressions and genetic drift is certainly a better explanation than “randomness” of the fact that Persia, Mesopotamia or Egypt had strong civilizations in the past but not now).

RH: Alain de Benoist does well to stress that the Out of Africa theory is still questioned. Once it was thought that man originated in Mongolia. Now anyone in the US who questions the Out of Africa theory has difficulty in getting a hearing.

Plan to attend the WAIS conference on “Critical World Issues ” at Stanford July 31-August 1, 2006. It will be a rare opportunity to meet other WAISers. Tell interested friends.

Ronald Hilton, Editor, 2006

RE: Intelligence and geography (Jordi Molins, Spain)

I wrote: According to the Out of Africa theory. all the species of man originated in Africa, so the Neanderthal were not “a purely Europen people”. Likewise Homo Erectus was of African progon. I remember the time when it was assumed that there were three races of man. Since Jordi Molins seems to adhere to that theory, is it still prevalent in Europe? Jordi replies: When I say that Neanderthals were a purely European people I mean that Neanderthals got their physical specificities while in Europe (of course, I believe that Neanderthals’ancestors were Africans, because I believe in the Out of Africa hypothesis). In the same way Homo Erectus were purely Asian, even though Homo Erectus’ ancestors came from Africa. And we are “Africans” because our ancestors (the ones that exterminated the Neanderthals) got their physical specificities while in Africa.

If northern European conditions were so good to develop a high IQ, probably Neanderthals would have exterminated us. But they did not. It is my hypothesis (without any kind of rational justification, just gut feeling) that the fact that one civilization, at one point in time, is “superior” to the others is due to randomness (with the exception of one fact: rivers are good for developing a civilization, lack of rivers make civilization more difficult to exist).

Randomness could explain well that Persia, Mesopotamia or Egypt were strong civilizations in the past, and now they are not. Or that currently the western world is the strongest civilization, but one thousand (or two thousand) years ago was not.

Plan to attend the WAIS conference on “Critical World Issues ” at Stanford July 31-August 1, 2006. It will be a rare opportunity to meet other WAISers. Tell interested friends.
Ronald Hilton, Editor, 2006

Intelligence and geography (Jordi Molins, Spain)

From Spain,Jordi Molins comments on the posting “Winters Are Good For Your Genes: Lynn Book Finds World Average IQ 90, Declining From North To South” by J. Philippe Rushton, It summarizes the theories of Richard Lynn: Jordi says: The proposed hypothesis about the relationship of IQ and race does not explain two facts, at least:

Culture in mankind appeared not in cold regions, but in warm regions. For example, cities, agriculture and writing appeared in Mesopotamia for the first time Crete was also in a warm location. And Greece and Rome. And Persia. And Egypt. Instead, northern Europe was populated by “barbarians”, according to some people.

Mankind appeared in Africa again and again according to the “Out of Africa” hypothesis. Instead, Neanderthals, a purely European people, could not resist the pressure of Homo Sapiens, a purely African people. Neanderthals had a bigger brain than we, but this was not help them to survive, apparently. And Homo Erectus, who was living in Asia (and in principle, should have received a high IQ due to favorable geographical conditions, according to the hypothesis), could not resist us Africans, either.
RH: According to the Out of Africa theory. all the species of man originated in Africa, so the Neanderthal were not “a purely Europenn people”. Likewise Homo Erectus was of African progon. I remember the time when it was assumed that there were three races of man. Since Jordi seems to adhere to that theory, is it still prevalent in Europe? The “Out of Africa” theory has been promoted mostly by American anthropologists. As for the northern barbarians , It obviously required time for them to develop their civilization.

Plan to attend the WAIS conference on “Critical World Issues ” at Stanford July 31-August 1, 2006. It will be a rare opportunity to meet other WAISers. Tell interested friends.

Ronald Hilton, Editor, 2006

China and US: Early Chinese migrations to America

Tim Brown says: Reference the message on 1412. While doing research for my book on the Nicaraguan Contras I catalogued more than 85 comandos who had Chino (Chinese) as part of their nom de guerre. Essentially it’s a nickname for someone with a partial epicanthic fold. The theory that the America’s were populated across the sea is not French by a long shot, nor do all top American anthropologists deny it. In fact, Bill Solheim, one of the grandees among American� anthropologists that have specialized in Asia, theorized long ago that the America’s were populated by descendents of the Nu San Tao, not Chinese, and the genome appear more and more to support his hypothesis.

RH: I remember clearly the debate, a long time ago, between the French, who supported the trans-Pacific theory and the Americans who denied it. Tim confuses the argument.

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