Why are the Jews so successful? What is it that makes the Jews so successful, beyond proportion to their numbers? Several theories have been given to explain this. One is that since Jews are constantly being persecuted, their minds had to develop in order to survive. The comedian John Mulaney once said: “Jews don’t daydream, because folks are after them and they gotta stay sharp. You know what I mean? They have to be there. They haven’t let their minds wander since Egypt. They just stay sharp. They go, ‘Who’s that? Put that down. What’s that over there? Don’t do that.’” Since Jews are being prosecuted, they have had to remain alert and their minds developed beyond that of other cultural groups. This theory was given to answer the question of Jewish success, but has never been proven conclusively.
However, there are two principal theories that have been suggested to explain this phenomenon. One is that Jews have a higher level of intelligence and the second is that they have cultural values that stimulate success. This report will explore both of these theories.
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The first theory is the idea of intelligence and it was proposed as early as 1919 when Jacobs and Veblin, sociologists who researched in two different studies the intellectual superiority of the Jews of Europe (Lynn and Kanazawa, 2007).
Charles Murray, a political scientist, also studies this and published his findings in his book The Bell Curve. In it he writes that the source for the Jews remarkable record is their higher intelligence. Numerous studies have been done that shows that higher intelligence is a determining factor in economic and intellectual success. It explains the higher proportion of Jews in fields that require higher intelligence like theoretical physics or pure
mathematics. Murray states that the exact average of Jewish (American and English) IQ is estimated at 110, with a standard deviation of 15. This means that the probability of a Jew with an IQ of 140 or higher is 6 times more likely than an American having the same IQ. Compared to the American and British mean IQ of 100, Jews are in the 75th percentile of intelligence (Murray, 2007). The average IQ of a Nobel Prize laureate is 145 so it makes sense that Jews would be more highly represented there, over gentiles (Naik, 2013). There have been studies done that support this. In 1954, psychologists gave the entire of the New York City public school system a pencil-and-paper IQ test and used that to identify 28 children with an IQ of 170 or higher. Of those 28 children, 24 of them were Jewish (Gilger, 2012). Jews have an average IQ higher than non-Jews. Murray does add a disclaimer that just because one has a high IQ does not mean he will have great accomplishments, but he does say that if one is not smart, one will not achieve great accomplishments. If one were to select a random Jew and a random gentile from any culture, it is much more likely that the Jew will win on the intelligence scale. Many geneticists, historians and anthropologists have come to explain why it is that Jews, mainly Ashkenazi Jews, exhibit a higher average IQ, all with many variants in discoveries, but the discussion is still speculative, nothing can be proven conclusively and there is a lot of room for disagreement. There is a large group in the intellectual community who assume that the answer is grounded in genetics. A lot of research has been done within the last 2 decades studying the effect of nature vs. nurture and it has been established that environmental factors play less of a role then one might expect. Of course they play some role, but as long as the environment is not terrible then it will have no effect on intellect. A child adopted at birth into a family with high intellect is not expected to achieve the intellect predicted by their parents IQ. The same with gentile children raised in Jewish families. So the answer lies in nature or heredity (Murray, 2007). One suggests that since Jews were constantly being persecuted, only the smartest survived, and therefore passing on their genius genes. However, that theory was highly criticized because other persecuted groups like the Gypsies, for example do not exhibit the same outcomes. Another theory is that certain genetic diseases that were prevalent in Ashkenazim created an increase in intelligence in heterozygotes. There are still more theories on why the Jewish mean IQ is higher than that of other cultural groups. Another says that since Jews value intelligence, scholars or smarter people were more likely to reproduce then people of lesser intelligence (Cochran, Hardy, and Harpending, 2005). The Gemara in Pesachim says that “a person should sell everything that he has [so that] he can marry the daughter of a Torah scholar […] And he should marry his daughter to a Torah scholar” (49a). This is in contrast to other cultures, who value abstinence (Rosen, 2011), their greatest become priests, monks, nuns, and sadhus (Hinduism’s holy man) who take on a vow of celibacy (“Celibacy”); however, Judaism values family. In the Torah it is a mitzva (commandment) to have children (Genesis 1:28). Rabbis were also often physicians, like Rambam (Maimonides), which contributed better medical care to their children and gave them a better chance of passing on their genes. While the majority of the greatest Jewish leaders have been married, carrying on their “smart” genes, the wisest of other cultures live out their lives unmarried.
"Demonological anti-Semitism, of the virulent racial variety, was the common structure of the perpetrators' cognit...
...est high school students in America” (Gladwell 82). It was shocking to learn that all the Nobel Prize in Medicine winners did not all come from the most prestigious schools. Also, in the third chapter I notices some aspects that were highly relatable to me. My life relates to subjects included in chapter three because I am a student. It is interesting and helpful to learn that one does not need the highest IQ to succeed in today’s world. This is how I relate to chapter three. The third chapter in Outlier by Malcolm Gladwell had striking information that stated that IQs do not always determine who will be successful, and I can relate to the information in the chapter because I am student who has thought about my IQ before.
These capabilities do not associate with our race, but they do associate with family upbringing possibly relating to the culture that family originated from. Controversial writer Amy Chua opens her rhetorical analysis essay. “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior” by claiming; “A lot of people wonder how Chinese parents raise such stereotypically successful kids. They wonder what these parents do to produce so many math whizzes and music prodigies…” (Chua). The Chinese among a few other cultures have been known for demanding academic excellence from their children. These children typically are considered the top of their classes’ at all academic levels, even when they enter adulthood in a higher education setting. They frequently bring their academic capability to the law, medical, science, technology, and engineering fields. In addition some of those skills with others on their academic journey in the form of tutoring and study groups. This isn’t to say anyone one else from any other lineage can’t achieve the same feat or perform at the same level. But the Chinese place a cultural focus point and academics to place an emphasis on the future for their children. That cultural focus point truly benefits the rest of society in the United States. The same fashion exemplified here with people of Chinese decent, all cultures present in our melting
Brandeis’s depiction of Jewish qualities is, more than anything, a call to understand Jewish identity. As a proponent of Zionism, Brandeis recognized the importance of unity, and tried to bring Jews together in identifying their characteristics: “…qualities with which every one of us is familiar…” (Glatzer 707). In the United States, a country whose Jewish population was composed of Jews from other nations around the globe, a sense of strong identity was of singular importance. These treasured qualities of mind, body and character “…may properly be called Jewish qualities.” (Glatzer 707). Brandeis redefines the meaning of “Jew” for those who had lost themselves in immigration and overwhelming anti-Semitism.
The Bell Curve is a book originally published in 1994. It was written by Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray to explain the variations of intelligence in American Society. They accomplished this by using statistical analysis, for the purpose of raising warnings regarding the consequences of the intelligence gap. This was also made to propose a national social policy with the goal of mitigating bad consequences that have been attributed to this intelligence gap. Much of the information is widely considered controversial. An example of this is the low African-American scores compared to whites and Asians, and genetic factors in intelligence abilities. The introduction of the book starts with a brief history of intelligence theory and recent developments in intelligence thought and testing. The author creates six assumptions that has to do with the validity of the “classical” cognitive testing techniques.
New York: William Morrow. Lipsett, S. M. & Co., P.A. and Ladd, E. C. (1971) The 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secon "Jewish Academics in the United States: Their Achievements, Culture and Politics." American Jewish Yearbook -. Cited for Zuckerman, Harriet (1977).
...f society. The second point of view held that Jews were inherently bad and can never be salvaged despite any and all efforts made by Christians to assimilate them. These Christians felt that there was absolutely no possibility of Jews having and holding productive positions in society. All the aforementioned occurrences lead to the transformation of traditional Jewish communities, and paved the way for Jewish existence, as it is known today. It is apparent, even through the examination of recent history that there are reoccurring themes in Jewish history. The most profound and obvious theme is the question of whether Jews can be productive members of their country and at the same time remain loyal to their religion. This question was an issue that once again emerged in Nazi Germany, undoubtedly, and unfortunately, it is not the last time that question will be asked.
Barry Chiswick, “The Labor Market Status of American Jews: Patterns and Determinants,” in AJYB, 1985, 145.
For Christianity, the 12th century represented a century of both internal and external changes. While the crusades sought to impose a “universalized Christian faith” on those outside of the religion, the internal mechanisms of the Church began to promote reformations that encouraged a unification of the “doctrine, liturgy, piety and politics within Western Christendom”. During this century, Christians began to experience a cohesive and sacred community. Anselm of Canterbury and Peter Abelard made theological advancements that allowed for the unification of the Church – and for a drastic change in Jewish-Christian relations. Their theories of atonement began to shape the way in which Christian’s approached Jews in the questions of God. While Anselm’s satisfaction theory of atonement began to promote an appeal to reason among Christians towards Jews, Abelard’s moral influence theory of atonement had the potential on encouraging religious tolerance. Due to the political climate of this time, Anselm’s theory took hold and became the prominent theological arguments against Jews.
Recent efforts by Jewish historians such as David Biale of Berkeley emphasize the success, achievements, and power bases that Jews did have at various points during this time period (Kung page 159.) Although it predominates its history, the Jewish heritage is not simply one of continual suffering, persecution, and subservience.
Flohr, Paul R., and Jehuda Reinharz. "2." The Jew in the modern world: a documentary history. 3 ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1980. Print.
Loehlin, John C., Lindzey Gardner, and J.N. Spuhler. Race Differences in Intelligence. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company, 1975.
Through research, I will examine if there is a correlation, be it direct or indirect, between a person’s race and their educational attainment. In order to answer this question, it is important to consider other variables, such as a sex, socioeconomic status, culture, and religion. How do these variables influence a racial group’s access to education? Numerous studies have been done to answer questions like these. I am curious to find out what intrinsic characteristics of a racial/ethnic group impact their success. My research will include collection of existing data and analysis of several case studies. Some of the sociological questions that I would use to answer my hypothesis are: What are some factors that affect a person’s education level? Or how does sex affect the success of a person? Also I will explain the meaning of socioeconomic status? And is culture the foundation of educational levels? I will use these questions to help me write my research paper.
Furnham, A. 2001. Self-estimates of intelligence: culture and gender difference in self and other estimates of both general (g) and multiple intelligences. Personality and Individual Differences, 31, pp. 1381-1405.
Research reveals that the higher the social class, the higher the levels of educational achievement are likely to be. The children of parents in higher social classes are more likely to stay on in post compulsory education, more likely to achieve examination passes when at school, and more likely to gain university entrance. These features painted a true picture of British education in the twentieth century and can be argued to follow this trend today. However, whether there has been any reduction in the inequalities is more debatable, but some research suggests that these inequalities are as great as ever, despite the overall improvements within the education system. Many researchers argue that IQ tests are biased in favour of the middle class, since members of this group largely construct them.