Intelligence, Destiny, And Education: The Ideological Roots Of Intelligence Testing

Intelligence - what it is and how it can be measured - is something that has exercised psychologists, educationalists, biologists and philosophers for hundreds of years. For many philosophers of education, justification of the most dominant theory - that intelligence has innately determined upper limits - appears inadequate.
In "Intelligence, Destiny and Education," John White passes the baton from philosophy to history as he traces some of the social and historical influences on modern ideas about human capabilities. He focuses on the influence that he believes puritan ideas and assumptions have had on the psychological conceptions of intelligence as innate. Drawing on the work of Galton, Pearson, Burt, Goddard, Terman, and others, in his search for the truth about intelligence testing, he looks at the personal histories and social religious assumptions and backgrounds of these key psychologists.
John White's concern is that in these test-orientated times a system of intelligence testing based on the eugenicists' theory of intelligence could lead to an educational caste system in which the task of education gives way to the doctrine of predestination. This fascinating book will appeal to all those involved in education.