The measure of merit : talents, intelligence, and inequality in the French and American republics, 1750-1940 / John Carson.
2007
BF431.5.F8 C37 2007 (Mapit)
Available at General Collection
Items
Details
Title
The measure of merit : talents, intelligence, and inequality in the French and American republics, 1750-1940 / John Carson.
Author
Carson, John, 1954-
ISBN
0691017158 (alk. paper)
9780691017150 (alk. paper)
9780691017150 (alk. paper)
Imprint
Princeton : Princeton University Press, ©2007.
Language
English
Description
xvii, 401 pages ; 25 cm
Other Standard Identifiers
9780691017150
99816582625
99816582625
Call Number
BF431.5.F8 C37 2007
Summary
"In this wide-ranging account of American and French understandings of merit, talent, and intelligence over the past two centuries, John Carson tells the story of how two nations wrestled scientifically with human inequalities and their social and political implications. Surveying a broad array of political tracts, philosophical treatises, scientific works, and journalistic writings, Carson chronicles the gradual embrace of the IQ version of intelligence in the United States, while in France, the birthplace of the modern intelligence test, expert judgment was consistently prized above such quantitative measures.
He also reveals the crucial role that determinations of, and contests over, merit have played in both societies - they have helped to organize educational systems, justify racial hierarchies, classify army recruits, and direct individuals onto particular educational and career paths."--Jacket.
He also reveals the crucial role that determinations of, and contests over, merit have played in both societies - they have helped to organize educational systems, justify racial hierarchies, classify army recruits, and direct individuals onto particular educational and career paths."--Jacket.
Note
He also reveals the crucial role that determinations of, and contests over, merit have played in both societies - they have helped to organize educational systems, justify racial hierarchies, classify army recruits, and direct individuals onto particular educational and career paths."--Jacket.
Bibliography, etc. Note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 281-385) and index.
Record Appears in
On-Campus Resources > Books
All Resources
All Resources
Table of Contents
Mental abilities and Republican cultures. "The most precious gift of nature" : natural aristocracy, Republican polities, and the meanings of talent ; Mental capacities and orthodox minds : mental science, education, and the politics of individual difference ; All men are created equal? : anthropology, intelligence, and the science of race
Individualizing intelligence through the science of difference. Between the art of the clinic and the precision of the laboratory : individual intelligence and the science of difference in Third Republic France ; American psychology and the seductions of IQ
Merit, matter, and mind. Out of the lab and into the world : intelligence goes to war ; Intelligence and the politics of merit between the wars.
Individualizing intelligence through the science of difference. Between the art of the clinic and the precision of the laboratory : individual intelligence and the science of difference in Third Republic France ; American psychology and the seductions of IQ
Merit, matter, and mind. Out of the lab and into the world : intelligence goes to war ; Intelligence and the politics of merit between the wars.