- and 'explained as a 'remote but necessary consequence of Junter, woman, the childbearer) I: follows that could NEVEr ME SUCH good scientist: engineers or architects as men, or hold positions of responsibility Attempts, such as the women' in movement's to agains nature" will result in disaster (eg All chese sociobiological theories therefore assume that human behaviour can be understood by animals. forget is that there other apimals. txampic anguage, the ability to separal he conception of a task from i ear and the seat to create to create our own bistory, are all uniquely human characteristics.
empirical data is no better. It in confused and contro versoal. It is therefore temptine to simply dismiss these ideas. L BE LAKER The Inner London Education Auth ority refers to Hutt lone of the hest known researchers) in its 'Career Opportunitie Girts. Lockwood (Chuirmur of the Equal Oppor tunities Commission), referring to employers: claims that womber cannot do certain kinds of johs agrees that the limits of equality tundamental se dinerenes - must be examiner Thus we can see that, like ideas such as racial differences in IQ and genetic abnormanty in crim quoted and believed. And in period of education cuts and high unemployment, it's not difficul to set how they can be used Why are they so attractive?
they appear to explain the world we experience, and i they use the status quo as their ly DOT GRIFFITHS and ESTHER SARAGA static thin policemanat зіріст political explana lions, Scientific knowledge an explanations have a special status capitalist society. which derives both from the vie ol science as an objective, value neutral activity, and its sucpess in changing material conditions We learn this view of science at school where it appears cateric mysifying and often difheuli. but as a subject which never theless has great explanatory power.
The media's presentation of science reinforces the deference to scientific expertise which chis view of science produces So biological explanations of authority than political explana tians, aid despite consent chal lenge, the ideas do bot disappea and are very powerful. It is no sufficient just to laugh at theone about women gerting hairier. 9 even 1o dismiss them ki had must he criticised solitically. Under capitalism bi logical theories are (intecrath implicated in the continued op pression of wolben.
duction, ideology, and the meant Or represson makes if importCOTTEE scientific questions, just as Marx and Engels dic Socialist Challenge invited the Brish Sociery for Social Res ponsibility in Science, the larges organisation of socialist solenrises in Britain, to contribule on th many aspects of the polinic o science. The article above if th first of what will be a regular