Hereditary Genius

{{Infobox book

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| name = Hereditary Genius: An Inquiry Into Its Laws and Consequences

| image = File:Hereditary_Genius.png

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| caption = Title page for Hereditary Genius: An Inquiry Into Its Laws and Consequences (1892 edition)

| author = Francis Galton

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| country = United Kingdom

| language = English

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| subject = Genius

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| publisher = Macmillan Publishers

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| pub_date = 1869

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| pages = 390

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Hereditary Genius: An Inquiry Into Its Laws and Consequences is a book by Francis Galton about the genetic inheritance of intelligence. It was first published in 1869 by Macmillan Publishers.{{Cite book |url=http://content.apa.org/books/13474-000 |title=Hereditary genius: An inquiry into its laws and consequences. |last=Galton |first=Francis |authorlink=Francis Galton |date=1869 |publisher=Macmillan and Co |location=London |language=en |doi=10.1037/13474-000}} The first American edition was published by D. Appleton & Company in 1870.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SgH0fWhnBGoC&pg=PA251 |title=The Correspondence of Charles Darwin |last=Darwin |first=Charles |date=2010-04-22 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521768894 |pages=251 |language=en |author-link=Charles Darwin}} It was Galton's first major work written from a hereditarian perspective.{{Cite journal |last=Fancher |first=Raymond E. |author-link=Raymond Fancher |date=June 1983 |title=Biographical Origins of Francis Galton's Psychology |journal=Isis |language=en |volume=74 |issue=2 |pages=227–233 |doi=10.1086/353245 |issn=0021-1753 |pmid=6347965}} It was later referred to as "the first serious study of the inheritance of intelligence"{{Cite journal |last=Bramwell |first=B. S. |date=January 1948 |title=Galton's hereditary genius and the three following generations since 1869 |journal=The Eugenics Review |volume=39 |issue=4 |pages=146–153 |pmc=2986459 |pmid=18903832}} and as "the beginning of scientific interest in the topic of genius."{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/geniusnaturalhis00eyse |url-access=registration |title=Genius: The Natural History of Creativity |last=Eysenck |first=H. J. |date=1995-05-11 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521485081 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/geniusnaturalhis00eyse/page/14 14] |language=en |author-link=Hans Eysenck}}{{Eugenics sidebar}}

In the book, Galton claimed that the sons of men whom he considered "eminent" in a given profession were more likely to achieve such eminence themselves than if they were not closely related to eminent individuals. He interpreted this pattern as evidence for genetic transmission of human intelligence, without considering the environment.{{Cite journal |last=Gillham |first=Nicholas W. |date=September 2009 |title=Cousins: Charles Darwin, Sir Francis Galton and the birth of eugenics |journal=Significance |language=en |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=132–135 |doi=10.1111/j.1740-9713.2009.00379.x |quote=He dismissed the obvious objection that an eminent father was more likely to find a suitable position for his son than one less fortunate. That is, environment might be important too. |doi-access=free |authorlink=Nicholas W. Gillham}} Nicholas W. Gillham stated "He (Galton) dismissed the obvious objection that an eminent father was more likely to find a suitable position for his son than one less fortunate. That is, environment might be important too."

Galton’s controversial theories of intelligence have been influential, shaping the perspective of numerous researchers.{{Cite web |last=Martschenko |first=Daphne |title=Genetics: what it is that makes you clever – and why it's shrouded in controversy |url=http://theconversation.com/genetics-what-it-is-that-makes-you-clever-and-why-its-shrouded-in-controversy-56115 |access-date=2023-03-08 |website=The Conversation |date=21 April 2016 |language=en}}

Contemporary reception

Alfred Russel Wallace wrote a favourable review of Hereditary Genius in Nature, concluding that the book "...will take rank as an important and valuable addition to the science of human nature."{{Cite journal |last=Wallace |first=Alfred R. |author-link=Alfred Russel Wallace |date=March 1870 |title=Hereditary Genius, an Inquiry into its Laws and Consequences |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=1 |issue=20 |pages=501–503 |doi=10.1038/001501a0 |issn=0028-0836|bibcode=1870Natur...1..501W |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1587117 }} In general, contemporary scientists in Victorian England reviewed the book favourably, but reception among non-scientific Victorian readers was more mixed: religious commentators were much more critical of the book than were those of neither a scientific nor a religious background.{{Cite journal |last=Gökyigit |first=Emel Aileen |date=1994 |title=The reception of Francis Gallon's Hereditary genius in the Victorian Periodical Press |journal=Journal of the History of Biology |language=en |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=215–240 |doi=10.1007/BF01062563 |pmid=11639319 |issn=0022-5010}} Writing in the Journal of Anthropology, George Harris wrote, "We thank Mr. Galton for leading the way. We have canvassed his opinions freely; and, frequently as we differ from him, we must again assert our belief as to the value of his efforts, and the candid manner in which he has conducted his inquiries".{{Cite journal |last1=Harris |first1=George |last2=Galton |first2=Francis |date=July 1870 |title=Hereditary Genius |journal=The Journal of Anthropology |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=56 |doi=10.2307/3024796|jstor=3024796 }} Charles Darwin, a cousin of Galton, praised the book, writing in a letter to his cousin, {{blockquote|I have only read 50 pages of your book (to Judges), but I must exhale myself, else something will go wrong with my inside. I do not think I ever in all of my life read anything more interesting and original—and how well and clearly you put every point!"}}

Hereditary Genius

Contemporary reception

References

Further reading