Extreme Proponents and Extreme Skeptics of IQ Engage In Scientism

We should clearly define the limitations and Scientism on both sides of the IQ controversy

IQ or “Intelligence Quotient” is a controversial term that’s used as a proxy for cognitive or intellectual capacity. A raging debate exists between two camps:

• Extreme Proponents in IQ
  View IQ as an excellent model for the human mind and human intelligence and make expansive statements about IQ with respect to life outcomes and social policy.
• Extreme Skeptics of IQ
  Consider IQ as barely distinguishable from pseudoscience and as an underhanded tool to promote prejudice against individuals and discriminatory social policy against certain populations.

Despite the appeal to Science, what these two sides share is an implicit adherence to “Scientism,” which is often confused with Science because they may seem so similar to an untrained eye. Concise definitions are given below.

• Science is the “process” of discovering truths about the world through observation and empirical data, with a crucially important feature of falsifiability
• Scientism exists in two main senses:
  — The first sense is the improper practice or use of Science
  — The second sense is the belief…