Bigthink | On 02 October, J. Philippe Rushton passed away at an infuriatingly young age of 68.
I first learned of Phil’s work in 1999 when, as a then member of the Social Psychology Section of the American Sociological Association, I received a complimentary copy of the abridged edition of Race, Evolution and Behavior, which Phil had sent to all 600+ members of the Section at his personal expense. I read it right away, then I purchased and read the unabridged version.
When I met Phil in person for the first time the following year, I could not believe that a man so intensely hated in public (nearly always by idiots who did not know him personally and who did not know anything about science) could be so gentle, genial, and generous in person. His very kind and mild manners always impressed me, especially in stark contrast to how people thought and assumed he was.
Here’s one of my most favorite pictures in the world, which I call “The
four most hated men in science, and Jim Flynn.” The four most hated men
are, from left to right, J. Philippe Rushton, Helmuth Nyborg, Richard
Lynn, and yours truly, with James R. Flynn at the center. The picture
was taken at the 2007 conference of the International Society for
Intelligence Research, by a young intelligence researcher Jonathan Wai. I proudly display this picture in my office at LSE. My latest book The Intelligence Paradox: Why the Intelligent Choice Isn’t Always the Smart One is
partly dedicated to Phil, as well as to the other two most hated men in
the photo and other courageous pioneers in the field of intelligence
research. I can’t believe there can’t be any more pictures like this
with Phil.
