The march of reason: What was hidden in our genes

Abstract

Despite our genes, social progress has enhanced rationality and morality. The industrial revolution had subtle effects on both, and we enter an era in which the measurement of intelligence (IQ tests) raised questions about whether cognitive gains were equivalent to "intelligence" gains. A division of labor solves this problem. The measurement of intelligence properly refers to assessing individual differences in cognitive skills within groups at a particular time and place. The measurement of cognitive progress properly refers to people altering over time: whether they can use reason to deal with a wider range of problems (including moral problems), which is to say with cognitive history. Twin studies posed a dilemma about the potency of environment to account for cognitive progress. The Dickens/Flynn model shows that it can. The relevant question for humanity is whether cognitive and moral progress will persist over the next century.