[ExI] Famous Scientists saying Racist Things.

[SR Ballard]

Should we stop honoring famous scientists and mathematicians because they were racist or supported things like eugenics?

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/07/amid-protests-against-racism-scientists-move-strip-offensive-names-journals-prizes-and

“Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) decided to change the naming of its graduate school after Nobel Laureate James Watson because of his past racial comments.”

“The current movement isn’t the first to target scientists whose actions were judged unconscionable by subsequent generations. After the fall of Nazi Germany, apartheid in South Africa, and various communist nations, the names of scientists who supported oppressive policies were stripped from institutions and awards. And even before the recent demonstrations against systemic racism in the United States, many scientists had lobbied universities and science groups to stop honoring prominent researchers who had bigoted views. In 2018, for instance, years of activism prompted the University of Michigan (UM), Ann Arbor, to remove the name of Clarence Cook Little, an influential 20th century geneticist who supported eugenics, from a science building and a transit hub.”

Should a scientist’s personal views matter in regards to recognition of their scientific achievement?

SR Ballard
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