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Shockley's Thesis (1974-06-10)
About this film
Mr. Shockley's current fame, or notoriety, came not in his official field, but rather in a field of more recent interest to him, eugenics. Like, say, Arthur Jensen and Richard Herrnstein, Mr. Shockley was widely reviled for talking about the heritability of certain traits. Unlike them, he was promoting something that, post-Hitler, had become, as WFB puts it, "unspeakable." Mr. Shockley was suggesting a "voluntary sterilization bonus plan": "the amount of the bonus would be dependent on various factors. For example, income-tax payers would be offered no bonus. For all others, regardless of sex, race, or welfare status, ... the bonus would depend upon best scientific estimates - and that's a very important qualifying phrase ... -of any genetically carried disabilities, such as arthritis, hemophilia, Huntington's chorea. And if there is a genetic predisposal to heroin addiction, this should get a big bonus. Then I go on to say, furthermore, add $1,000 for every point you score below 100 on an IQ test." An often heated but illuminating discussion with a man who was seldom allowed to be heard.
Directors & creators
Southern Educational Communications Association
Subjects
public broadcasting, AAPB, Firing Line with William F. Buckley Jr., Heredity, Human, Eugenics, Degeneration
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