T. Nienstedt on Gould, Biological Determinism, Du Bois and Affirmative Action

The ambition of this blog entry is to clarify how Gould’s assertion that biological

determinism is a problem to modern human culture inform one’s understanding of W.E.B.

Du Bois’s defense of education among black people. Another crucial point within this field

of study are the Talented Tenth, a notion of Du Bois about an elite group of black people

who are able to form or even guide the remaining Mass. They are responsible to pass their

ideals and knowledge to the rest of their group.

Gould has a very basic understanding of how human behavior is innate and

determined by genes only. Thus it appears that, human characteristics or behavior is

largely unaffected by environmental influence. Particularly, this indicates a completely

stereotyped thinking and influences Du Bois’s notion as well.

Du Boi’s arguments support the highly fundamental right of education for black

people and one could argue that his notion of the Talented Tenth, an elite group of black

people who should guide the remaining Mass, clear the way for educated black people.

However, one should be careful with this argument. If a group is isolated from other

ethnicities, they will learn things in an isolated way. As a result, and in connection to the

biological determinism, they would act in a zone without any environmental influence or

any room for free will. Moreover, this means they would act like they always did and learn

things like they always learned. Black children might learn from the very beginning that

their place in life is being a domestic, rather than learning they are able to attend high

school and university like every other white child. Therefore, Du Boi’s notion of the

Talented Tenth is a risky one.

Generelly, affirmative action policies seem to be necessary to include ethnicities or

people who are still discriminated. This is the right way to raise the awareness of the public

that a certain lack of tolerance is still missing after all these years. On the other hand, to

call these policy affirmative action might be a discrimination per se. Unfortunately, in the

present, such an action policy is needed more than ever.

By Tanja Nienstedt