Genesis of Intelligence
Mills, Galant, and Binet by Melissa Penrose
John Stuart Mills- Nurture
father immersed him in academic studies
genius, but siblings were not
poor social skills and no self reliance
based ideas on John Locke studies
growth mindset
- believed intelligence was based on environment, experiences, and associations
- utilitarianism
- believed in equality and even supported women's equal rights movement
Ideas about John Stuart Mills
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mill/
The overall aim of his philosophy is to develop a positive view of the universe and the place of humans in it, one which contributes to the progress of human knowledge, individual freedom and human well-being.
He came to believe that his capacity for emotion had been severely weakened by his father's rigorous training in analysis. His intellect had been educated but not his feelings.
Mill came to appreciate the role of social and cultural institutions in the historical development of human beings.
Nurturist
mental chemistry
Making Connections
Francis Galton-Nature
- wealthy family and lineage
- reading Shakespeare at six years old
- youngest child (spoiled) and reminded how special he was
- exceptionally close relationship with older sister, Adele; cousin of Charles Darwin
- mental breakdown (similar to Mills)
Philosophy
- people were born with the level/ability of intelligence
- intelligence is hereditary and genetic
- large differences exist in people'sintellectual ability
- inequality is natural
- limitations occur even with practice
Superiority
Big Brain Theory and Connection
Connection: genetic engineering in World War Two and today
Naturist
Opposing Argument
Ideas from Francis Galton
Eugenics: methods of improving the biological make-up of the human species through selective parenthood
he was convinced that success was due to superior qualities passed down to offspring through heredity
human mental abilities and personality traits, no less than the plant and animal traits described by Darwin, were essentially inherited" (Seligman, 2002).
It followed that Galton estimated from his field observations in Africa that the African people were 'two grades' below Anglo-Saxons' position in the normal frequency distribution of general mental ability, which gave claim to the scientific validation of Africans' mental inferiority compared with Anglo-Saxons (Jensen, 2002); findings that continued to spark controversy in academia today.
Alfred Binet
- wealthy family
- only child of divorced parents
- relationship with father negatively affected him as a child, but seemed to influence more positive relationship with his daughters when he became a father
- eager to learn, experimented often with other philosophers and scientists
- learned the most by failure and analyzing his two daughters
Philosophy
- intelligence was multi-faceted: mental, attention, creativity, verbal fluency, judgement, and age
- ideas were fluid and evolved with trial and error
- used case studies to develop philosophy and beliefs
- collaborated with and learned from other philosophers and psychologists
Father of Intelligence Testing
Works Cited
Stanford Encyclopedia of Psychology. John Stuart Mills. Plato. Stanford Center for the
Study of Language and Information. 10 July 2007. Web. June 2016 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mill/
Robbins, Deann. The Philosophy of Intelligence: An Outline of Theories. University of
Toronto, Winter 1996. Web. June 2016.
http://psych.utoronto.ca/users/reingold/courses/intelligence/cache/DRobbins.html
Google. Images. https://www.google.com/search?q. June 2016.
Fancher, Raymond. The Intelligence Men: Makers of the IQ Controversy. New York: W.W.
Norton and Company, 1985. Print.