Summary
Overview
Nathan Kofnas, a philosopher of biology specializing in evolutionary theory and human population differences, discusses his role in exposing Jason Arday's plagiarism and the broader implications of what he calls 'hereditarianism'—the view that genetic differences significantly contribute to IQ variations between racial groups. The conversation explores his controversial research, the media backlash he's faced, his views on DEI policies, and why he believes accepting group differences is necessary to combat wokeism.
Nathan's Academic Background and Early Controversies
Nathan describes his philosophical work on evolutionary theory and human evolution, explaining how his career has been marked by controversies from both the political left and right. His first major controversy came in 2018 when he critiqued anti-Semitic alt-right theories, followed by backlash over a 2019 paper arguing for studying genetic causes of intelligence differences. At Cambridge, he faced a year-and-a-half investigation after publishing essays on group differences, with his college terminating his affiliation for allegedly rejecting diversity, equality, and inclusion values.
- First mobbing was by the right in 2018 for critiquing Kevin MacDonald's anti-Semitic evolutionary theory
- Published paper in 2019 arguing we should study all possible causes of group differences in intelligence, including genes, triggering massive backlash
- Editors of the journal resigned or were fired over the controversy around his paper
- Cambridge placed him under investigation for a year and a half after publishing 'A Guide for the Hereditarian Revolution'
- Emanuel College terminated his unpaid affiliation, claiming his essay rejected DEI values
" The only way to stop wokeism is to talk about differences. "
" The world makes no sense if you think that the average person in the Congo is born exactly the same as the average person in Japan. "
Why This Matters: The Case Against the Equality Thesis
Nathan's fundamental motivation is his belief that accepting the equality thesis—that all groups are born with identical potential—leads inevitably to seeing the world as permeated with injustice requiring endless correction. If you believe everyone has equal potential but observe different outcomes, the only conclusion is mystical forces of oppression like white racism and colonialism. This creates a moral imperative to achieve equal outcomes that consumes enormous energy in a hopeless project. Only accepting natural differences can bring peace and redirect that energy productively.
- Without hereditarianism, different outcomes between groups can only be explained by mystical forces of injustice
- The equality thesis makes the most urgent task correcting the environment to allow everyone to reach full potential
- Accepting differences are nobody's fault and simply the result of nature can bring peace
- Understanding group differences is key to making sense of social phenomena
" If you're a morally sensitive person, then the most urgent task is to correct the environment, which in practice means white racism, colonialism, and bring about equality of outcome. "
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