James R. Flynn
Encyclopedia
James Robert Flynn PhD
FRSNZ
(born 1934), aka Jim Flynn, Emeritus Professor of Political Studies at the University of Otago
in Dunedin
, New Zealand
, researches intelligence
and has become well known for his discovery of the Flynn effect
, the continued year-after-year increase of IQ scores in all parts of the world. His discovery was profiled in a 2007 article in The New Yorker
magazine by Malcolm Gladwell
.
Flynn's son Victor
is a maths professor at New College, Oxford
.
, and race, class and IQ (see race and intelligence
).
His books combine political and moral philosophy
with psychology
to examine problems such as justifying humane ideals and whether it makes sense to rank races and classes
by merit. He is currently a member of the editorial board of Intelligence
. and on the Honorary International Advisory Editorial Board of the Mens Sana Monographs
.
Originally from Washington DC, educated in Chicago
, Flynn immigrated to New Zealand during 1963.
Flynn wants to define intelligence at least generally enough to be independent of culture, emphasizing that the style of thought required to deal with problems of survival in a desert (mapping, tracking..), is different from that required to do well in the modern West (academic achievement etc.), but that both undoubtedly require intelligence.
A 1999 article published in American Psychologist
, summarizes much of his research. On the alleged genetic inferiority of Blacks on IQ tests, he lays out the argument and evidence for such a belief, and then refutes each point. He interprets the direct evidence--when Blacks are raised in settings that are less disadvantageous--as suggesting that environmental factors explain genetic differences. And yet, he argues that the environmental explanation gained force after the discovery that IQ scores were rising over time. Inter-generational IQ differences among Whites and across nations were larger than the Black-White IQ Gap and could not be accounted for by genetic factors, which, if anything, should have reduced IQ, according to scholars he references. He posits that the Black-White IQ score gap can be entirely explained by environmental factors if "the average environment for Blacks in 1995 matches the quality of the average environment for Whites in 1945." He summarizes his rejection of the theory that Blacks are genetically inferior to Whites by stating that "Nothing at present coerces rational belief."
Flynn is transparent about his belief in racial equality in his work, but he advocates for open scientific debate about controversial social science claims. He only urges those who hold such beliefs to refrain from advancing them without solid evidence.
Flynn's most recent book The Torchlight List proposes the controversial idea that a person can learn more from reading great works of literature than they can from going to university.
Flynn campaigns passionately for left-wing causes, and became an initiating member of both the NewLabour Party
and of the Alliance. He also advised Labour Prime Minister
Norman Kirk
on foreign policy
. He has campaigned for Parliament
on several of occasions, most recently in 2005
as an Alliance list-candidate. As of 2008 he acts as the Alliance spokesperson for finance and taxation.
showed that women without a tertiary (college) education had produced 2.57 babies each, compared to 1.85 babies for those women with a higher education. During July 2007, The Sunday Star-Times
quoted Flynn as saying that New Zealand risked having a less intelligent population
and that a "persistent genetic trend which lowered the genetic quality for brain physiology would have some effect eventually". He referred to hypothetical eugenicists' suggestions for reversing the trend, including some sort of oral contraceptive
"in the water supply and ... an antidote" in order to conceive.
Flynn later articulated his own views on the Close Up
television programme in an interview with Paul Henry
, suggesting that the Sunday Star-Times had grossly misrepresented his opinions. In the article, Flynn argued that he never intended for his suggestion to be taken seriously, as he only said this to illustrate a particular point.
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
FRSNZ
Royal Society of New Zealand
The Royal Society of New Zealand , known as the New Zealand Institute before 1933, was established in 1867 to co-ordinate and assist the activities of a number of regional research societies including the Auckland Institute, the Wellington Philosophical Society, the Philosophical Institute of...
(born 1934), aka Jim Flynn, Emeritus Professor of Political Studies at the University of Otago
University of Otago
The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...
in Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, researches intelligence
Intelligence quotient
An intelligence quotient, or IQ, is a score derived from one of several different standardized tests designed to assess intelligence. When modern IQ tests are constructed, the mean score within an age group is set to 100 and the standard deviation to 15...
and has become well known for his discovery of the Flynn effect
Flynn effect
The Flynn effect is the name given to a substantial and long-sustained increase in intelligence test scores measured in many parts of the world. When intelligence quotient tests are initially standardized using a sample of test-takers, by convention the average of the test results is set to 100...
, the continued year-after-year increase of IQ scores in all parts of the world. His discovery was profiled in a 2007 article in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
magazine by Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell, CM is a Canadian journalist, bestselling author, and speaker. He is currently based in New York City and has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996...
.
Flynn's son Victor
Victor Flynn
Eugene Victor Flynn is a British mathematician, currently a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford.He first studied at the University of Otago. He took a PhD at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1989, supervised by J. W. S. Cassels...
is a maths professor at New College, Oxford
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...
.
Academic work
Flynn has written seven books. His research interests include humane ideals and ideological debate, classics of political philosophyPolitical philosophy
Political philosophy is the study of such topics as liberty, justice, property, rights, law, and the enforcement of a legal code by authority: what they are, why they are needed, what, if anything, makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect and why, what form it...
, and race, class and IQ (see race and intelligence
Race and intelligence
The connection between race and intelligence has been a subject of debate in both popular science and academic research since the inception of intelligence testing in the early 20th century...
).
His books combine political and moral philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
with psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
to examine problems such as justifying humane ideals and whether it makes sense to rank races and classes
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
by merit. He is currently a member of the editorial board of Intelligence
Intelligence (journal)
Intelligence is a peer-reviewed academic journal of psychology that covers intelligence and psychometrics. It is published by Elsevier and the official journal of the International Society for Intelligence Research.The journal was established in 1977 and the editor in chief is Douglas K. Detterman...
. and on the Honorary International Advisory Editorial Board of the Mens Sana Monographs
Mens Sana Monographs
The Mens Sana Monographs is an open-access peer-reviewed medical journal-cum-monographic series. It is Devoted to the Understanding of Medicine, Mental Health, Mind, Man and their Matrix. The Mens Sana Monographs (MSM) is an open-access peer-reviewed medical journal-cum-monographic series. It is...
.
Originally from Washington DC, educated in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Flynn immigrated to New Zealand during 1963.
Flynn wants to define intelligence at least generally enough to be independent of culture, emphasizing that the style of thought required to deal with problems of survival in a desert (mapping, tracking..), is different from that required to do well in the modern West (academic achievement etc.), but that both undoubtedly require intelligence.
A 1999 article published in American Psychologist
American Psychologist
The American Psychologist is the official academic journal of the American Psychological Association. It contains archival documents and articles covering current issues in psychology, the science and practice of psychology, and psychology's contribution to public policy...
, summarizes much of his research. On the alleged genetic inferiority of Blacks on IQ tests, he lays out the argument and evidence for such a belief, and then refutes each point. He interprets the direct evidence--when Blacks are raised in settings that are less disadvantageous--as suggesting that environmental factors explain genetic differences. And yet, he argues that the environmental explanation gained force after the discovery that IQ scores were rising over time. Inter-generational IQ differences among Whites and across nations were larger than the Black-White IQ Gap and could not be accounted for by genetic factors, which, if anything, should have reduced IQ, according to scholars he references. He posits that the Black-White IQ score gap can be entirely explained by environmental factors if "the average environment for Blacks in 1995 matches the quality of the average environment for Whites in 1945." He summarizes his rejection of the theory that Blacks are genetically inferior to Whites by stating that "Nothing at present coerces rational belief."
Flynn is transparent about his belief in racial equality in his work, but he advocates for open scientific debate about controversial social science claims. He only urges those who hold such beliefs to refrain from advancing them without solid evidence.
Flynn's most recent book The Torchlight List proposes the controversial idea that a person can learn more from reading great works of literature than they can from going to university.
Political activities
In 1967, Flynn served as a chairperson for the Congress for Racial Equality (CORE), a civil rights organization in the U.S. South.Flynn campaigns passionately for left-wing causes, and became an initiating member of both the NewLabour Party
NewLabour Party (New Zealand)
NewLabour was a left-of-centre party founded in 1989 by Jim Anderton, an MP and former President of the New Zealand Labour Party.NewLabour was established by a number of Labour Party members who left the party in reaction to "Rogernomics", the economic policies implemented by the Labour Party's...
and of the Alliance. He also advised Labour Prime Minister
Prime Minister of New Zealand
The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...
Norman Kirk
Norman Kirk
Norman Eric Kirk was the 29th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1972 until his sudden death in 1974. He led the Parliamentary wing of the New Zealand Labour Party from 1965 to 1974. He was the fourth Labour Prime Minister of New Zealand, but the first to be born in New Zealand...
on foreign policy
Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy is a bimonthly American magazine founded in 1970 by Samuel P. Huntington and Warren Demian Manshel.Originally, the magazine was a quarterly...
. He has campaigned for Parliament
New Zealand House of Representatives
The New Zealand House of Representatives is the sole chamber of the legislature of New Zealand. The House and the Queen of New Zealand form the New Zealand Parliament....
on several of occasions, most recently in 2005
New Zealand general election, 2005
The 2005 New Zealand general election held on 17 September 2005 determined the composition of the 48th New Zealand Parliament. No party won a majority in the unicameral House of Representatives, but the Labour Party of Prime Minister Helen Clark secured two more seats than nearest rival, the...
as an Alliance list-candidate. As of 2008 he acts as the Alliance spokesperson for finance and taxation.
Controversial remarks
During 2007, new research from the 2006 New Zealand censusNew Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings
The New Zealand government department Statistics New Zealand conducts a census of population and dwellings every five years. The census scheduled for 2011 was cancelled due to circumstances surrounding the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, however, and legislation introduced to hold the next...
showed that women without a tertiary (college) education had produced 2.57 babies each, compared to 1.85 babies for those women with a higher education. During July 2007, The Sunday Star-Times
The Sunday Star-Times
The Sunday Star-Times is a New Zealand newspaper published each weekend by the Fairfax group in Auckland. It covers both national and international news, and is a member of the New Zealand Press Association and Newspaper Publishers Association of New Zealand.-History:The Sunday Star-Times was first...
quoted Flynn as saying that New Zealand risked having a less intelligent population
Dysgenics
Dysgenics is the study of factors producing the accumulation and perpetuation of defective or disadvantageous genes and traits in offspring of a particular population or species. Dysgenic mutations have been studied in animals such as the mouse and the fruit fly...
and that a "persistent genetic trend which lowered the genetic quality for brain physiology would have some effect eventually". He referred to hypothetical eugenicists' suggestions for reversing the trend, including some sort of oral contraceptive
Oral contraceptive
The combined oral contraceptive pill , often referred to as the birth-control pill or colloquially as "the Pill", is a birth control method that includes a combination of an estrogen and a progestin . When taken by mouth every day, these pills inhibit female fertility...
"in the water supply and ... an antidote" in order to conceive.
Flynn later articulated his own views on the Close Up
Close Up
Close Up is a half-hour long New Zealand current affairs programme produced by Television New Zealand. The programme airs at 7.00pm weeknights on TV ONE and is presented by Mark Sainsbury with Paul Henry as the back up supporting host.The show remains the country's most watched night news and...
television programme in an interview with Paul Henry
Paul Henry (New Zealand)
Paul Henry is a New Zealand broadcaster. He is both a radio and television presenter. He gained national recognition as the co-host of TVNZ's breakfast television programme Breakfast for 7 years, the 2007-2008 host of the New Zealand version of This Is Your Life and the backup host for current...
, suggesting that the Sunday Star-Times had grossly misrepresented his opinions. In the article, Flynn argued that he never intended for his suggestion to be taken seriously, as he only said this to illustrate a particular point.
Partial bibliography
- Race, IQ and Jensen London and Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1980. ISBN 0710006519
- Humanism and Ideology: an Aristotelian View London and Boston: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1973. ISBN 0710074425
- Asian Americans : Achievement Beyond IQ Hillsdale, N.J.: L. Erlbaum Associates, 1991. ISBN 0805811109
- How to defend humane ideals: substitutes for objectivity Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska Press, 2000. ISBN 0803219946
- What is intelligence? : beyond the Flynn effectWhat is Intelligence?What Is Intelligence?: Beyond the Flynn Effect is a book by psychologist James R. Flynn which outlines his model for an explanation of the eponymous Flynn effect...
Cambridge, UK ; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. ISBN 9780521880077 - Where Have All the Liberals Gone?: Race, Class, and Ideals in America Cambridge, UK ; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008. ISBN 9780521494311
- The Torchlight List: Around the World in 200 Books New Zealand: Awa Press, 2010. ISBN 9780958291699
External links
- http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2007/12/17/071217crbo_books_gladwell?currentPage=1 None of the Above: What IQ Doesn't Tell You About Race
- http://www.stat.columbia.edu/~gelman/stuff_for_blog/flynn.pdf Searching for Justice: The Discovery of IQ Gains Over Time
- Author profile page with Awa Press
- Otago University personal page
- Alliance Party
- Jim Flynn against eugenics - Scoop article
- "Progressive taxation and NZ": Professor Jim Flynn - Scoop
- Audio: James Flynn in conversation on the BBC World Service discussion show The Forum'The Forum (BBC World Service)The Forum is the BBC World Service's flagship discussion programme. It brings together prominent thinkers from different disciplines and different parts of the world to try and create stimulating discussion, informed by highly distinct academic, artistic and cultural backgrounds.-Format:Each...