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Teachers' Resource Web Study Questions on Stephen Jay Gould "Introduction" to The Mismeasure of Man 1. Explain Gould's allied terms "reification" and "ranking." (The first term has to do with an erroneous assumption, and the second with the consequently twisted interpretation of reified data.) 2. What does Gould say are the social consequences of reification and ranking? 3. Is Gould optimistic about the future of science? Can it be a vehicle for social progress? What do you think about this question? "Measuring Bodies," Ch. 4 from The Mismeasure of Man 1. Explain the terms "recapitulation" and "neoteny." How does Gould say they were enlisted in the service of reification and ranking? 2. Cesare Lombroso figures heavily in this chapter--describe the methods and errors involved in Lombroso's alleged science of criminal anthropology. Connecting the all-important term, "stigmata" with Gould's concept, "reification" would help you understand the flaws in Lombroso's whole scheme, which scheme is, of course, yet another variation on recapitulationist theory. 3. Look up the term "stigma" and any of its variations in a Greek and/or Latin dictionary. (In Latin, the terms to look for are stigma and stigmatias; in Greek, stigma and stigmatias.) The Oxford English Dictionary provides etymologies, too, and so can sometimes provide valuable historical contexts for a given word. Wherever you find the term "stigma," what do your findings imply about the social implications of Lombroso's science of criminal anthropology?
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