Discussions of race and intelligence – specifically regarding claims of differences in intelligence along racial lines – have appeared in both popular science and academic research since the modern concept of race was first introduced. With the inception of IQ testing in the early 20th century, differences in average test performance between racial groups were observed, though these differences have fluctuated and in many cases steadily decreased over time. Complicating the issue, modern science has concluded that race is a socially constructed phenomenon rather than a biological reality, and there exist various conflicting definitions of intelligence. In particular, the validity of IQ testing as a metric for human intelligence is disputed. Today, the scientific consensus is that genetics does not explain differences in IQ test performance between groups, and that observed differences are environmental in origin.
Autodidact and abolitionist Frederick Douglass (1817–1895) served as a high-profile counterexample to myths of black intellectual inferiority.
Alfred Binet (1857–1911), inventor of the first intelligence test
An environmental factor that varies between groups but not within groups can cause group differences in a trait that is otherwise 100 percent heritable.
Race (human categorization)
Race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 16th century, when it was used to refer to groups of various kinds, including those characterized by close kinship relations. By the 17th century, the term began to refer to physical (phenotypical) traits, and then later to national affiliations. Modern science regards race as a social construct, an identity which is assigned based on rules made by society. While partly based on physical similarities within groups, race does not have an inherent physical or biological meaning. The concept of race is foundational to racism, the belief that humans can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another.
The "three great races" according to Meyers Konversations-Lexikon of 1885–90. The subtypes are: Mongoloid race, shown in yellow and orange tones Caucasoid race, in light and medium grayish spring green-cyan tones Negroid race, in brown tones Dravidians and Sinhalese, in olive green and their classification is described as uncertain The Mongoloid race sees the widest geographic distribution, including all of the Americas, North Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the entire inhabited
"Races humaines" according to Pierre Foncins La deuxième année de géographie of 1888. White race, shown in rose, Yellow (Mongoloid) race, shown in yellow, Negroid race, shown in brown, "Secondary races" (Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Australian aboriginals, Samoyedic peoples, Hungarians, Malayans and others) are shown in orange
Portrait "Redenção de Cam" (1895), showing a Brazilian family becoming "whiter" each generation