The outstanding scientist, R.A. Fisher: his views on eugenics and race

Critical Social Justice Subverts Scientific Publishing

“…Not only can common technical terms and plain English words be offensive, but names of scientists, we are told, can too, and so they should be obliterated. A rapidly growing list of scientists who have had their names stricken from buildings, textbooks, awards, and more (Krylov 2021: 5371; Krylov and Tanzman 2021; Bodmer 2021: 565; Powell 2022; Krylov 2022b) includes such luminaries as: William Shockley (inventor of transistors); Fritz Haber (developer of nitrogen fixation process); Erwin Schrödinger (discovered the wave equation of quantum mechanics); Isaac Newton (Newton laws, calculus); Robert Millikan (oil drop experiment); Ronald Fisher (modern statistics); Thomas Henry Huxley (evolutionary biologist, ‘Darwin’s bulldog’); Edward O. Wilson (evolutionary biologist); James Webb (former head of NASA). …”

“…Others, who have no record of unsavoury beliefs or behaviours, stand among the cancelled because of how their work was used by others. For example, only because his statistical methods were allegedly used to justify racism was Fisher accused of being a eugenicist (Bodmer 2021: 565). According to the award-winning physicist Prescod-Weinstein, it is sufficient to be a dead white man to get on the cancellation list (Powell 2022).…”

A Dominant Character: The Radical Science and Restless Politics of J. B. S. HaldaneSamanthSubramanianNew York, NY: W. W. Norton, 2019

“…8 It is often assumed that eugenics was associated with right-wing political views (Fisher himself was a conservative), but many prominent advocates of eugenics were on the left, for example, H. J. Muller. 8 Somewhat misleadingly, Subramanian asserts: "For eugenicists, race was an indicator of ability" (p. 139). There was certainly a racist component to the eugenics movement, and Subramanian quotes Haldane himself as having doubts about the abilities of black Africans and Australians early in his career (p. 140).…”

“…There is currently a good deal of scrutiny of the views and activities of past eminent figures on eugenics and race. Haldane's eminent contemporary and colleague at UCL, R. A. Fisher, has come under attack for his support for eugenics and his alleged racism, with several institutions and scientific societies removing his name from buildings and awards 8 . It is often assumed that eugenics was associated with right‐wing political views (Fisher himself was a conservative), but many prominent advocates of eugenics were on the left, for example, H. J. Muller 8 .…”

“…Haldane's eminent contemporary and colleague at UCL, R. A. Fisher, has come under attack for his support for eugenics and his alleged racism, with several institutions and scientific societies removing his name from buildings and awards 8 . It is often assumed that eugenics was associated with right‐wing political views (Fisher himself was a conservative), but many prominent advocates of eugenics were on the left, for example, H. J. Muller 8 . Somewhat misleadingly, Subramanian asserts: “For eugenicists, race was an indicator of ability” (p. 139).…”