thesis

The dawn of idiocy: abnormality as the norm of human intelligence

Abstract

This work examines how science used the abnormal to reconfigure the basis of human intelligence and linked thought to identity. This includes the belief that we inherit intellectual traits the same as physical characteristics. The heredity link between the abnormal and family lineage marked abandonment of cure in favor of social control intensified by the individual who appears normal. This figure justifies screening and classification. Social biology concerned with the welfare of society found a biological threat, which progressively led to sterilization, euthanasia, and genocide. This shift included the power to distribute individuals within a field as though it was real; revealing differences of ability; the realities of his abilities and the contents of the knowledge he is capable of acquiring. This work traces these ideas embedded in the formation of compulsory schooling, the school as social filter, a hyper-normative education system, and pedagogic-treatment for adherence to developmental and behavioral norms

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