The measure of merit : talents, intelligence, and inequality in the French and American republics, 1750-1940 / John Carson.

0691017158 (alk. paper)
9780691017150 (alk. paper)

Princeton : Princeton University Press, ©2007.

English

xvii, 401 pages ; 25 cm

9780691017150
99816582625

BF431.5.F8 C37 2007

"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.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 281-385) and index.

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