Also, there is no particular reason why learning that a group’s average IQ is a standard deviation lower than you thought before should cause a decrease in your sympathy and empathy for that group. I see no one in that camp saying “How can we use this information to optimize charities?” which is the obvious first question if you care about the people you’re talking about. Why would a fact about an innate feature that people can’t control shrink your moral circle?! I’m sure there are exceptions, but it is eminently clear reading reactionary blogs just who they care about.
Also, there is no particular reason why learning that a group’s average IQ is a standard deviation lower than you thought before should cause a decrease in your sympathy and empathy for that group.
I think a lot of people lose sympathy when they feel like there’s nothing they can do. You see this pattern with people who have addict relatives or friends who make bad romantic decisions. At first they try to offer advice and money and various kinds of help but as this doesn’t work, they revert to not even feeling sympathy anymore. I think ascribing genetic inferiority to underprivileged groups is likely to work like this for a lot of people.
Sympathy tends to extend more for lack of capability than poor choices.
And it takes some non-intuitive insight to understand that in some situations “poor choices” are caused by a “lack of capability”. Specifically, a capability to think or act sufficiently rationally. (Where “sufficiently” depends on the specific situation.)
Also, there is no particular reason why learning that a group’s average IQ is a standard deviation lower than you thought before should cause a decrease in your sympathy and empathy for that group. I see no one in that camp saying “How can we use this information to optimize charities?” which is the obvious first question if you care about the people you’re talking about. Why would a fact about an innate feature that people can’t control shrink your moral circle?! I’m sure there are exceptions, but it is eminently clear reading reactionary blogs just who they care about.
If anything, I’d expect it to increase sympathy.
I think a lot of people lose sympathy when they feel like there’s nothing they can do. You see this pattern with people who have addict relatives or friends who make bad romantic decisions. At first they try to offer advice and money and various kinds of help but as this doesn’t work, they revert to not even feeling sympathy anymore. I think ascribing genetic inferiority to underprivileged groups is likely to work like this for a lot of people.
I don’t think so.
Sympathy tends to extend more for lack of capability than poor choices.
And it takes some non-intuitive insight to understand that in some situations “poor choices” are caused by a “lack of capability”. Specifically, a capability to think or act sufficiently rationally. (Where “sufficiently” depends on the specific situation.)