Francis Galton's regression towards mediocrity and the stability of types.

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  • Author(s): Krashniak A;Krashniak A; Lamm E; Lamm E
  • Source:
    Studies in history and philosophy of science [Stud Hist Philos Sci] 2021 Apr; Vol. 86, pp. 6-19. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Jan 16.
  • Publication Type:
    Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Language:
    English
  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: Pergamon Press Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 1250602 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 0039-3681 (Print) Linking ISSN: 00393681 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Stud Hist Philos Sci Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Publication: Oxford : Pergamon Press
      Original Publication: London, Macmillan.
    • Subject Terms:
      Eugenics* ; Heredity*; Biological Evolution
    • Abstract:
      A prevalent narrative locates the discovery of the statistical phenomenon of regression to the mean in the work of Francis Galton. It is claimed that after 1885, Galton came to explain the fact that offspring deviated less from the mean value of the population than their parents did as a population-level statistical phenomenon and not as the result of the processes of inheritance. Arguing against this claim, we show that Galton did not explain regression towards mediocrity statistically, and did not give up on his ideas regarding an inheritance process that caused offspring to revert to the mean. While the common narrative focuses almost exclusively on Galton's statistics, our arguments emphasize the anthropological and biological questions that Galton addressed. Galton used regression towards mediocrity to support the claim that some biological types were more stable than others and hence were resistant to evolutionary change. This view had implications concerning both natural selection and eugenics. The statistical explanation attributed to Galton appeared later, during the biometrician-mutationist debate in the early 1900s. It was in the context of this debate and specifically by the biometricians, that the development of the statistical explanation was originally attributed to Galton.
      Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
      (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
    • Contributed Indexing:
      Keywords: Evolutionary saltationism; Francis Galton; Inheritance and statistics; Regression to the mean; Stability of types
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20210509 Date Completed: 20220404 Latest Revision: 20220405
    • Publication Date:
      20240829
    • Accession Number:
      10.1016/j.shpsa.2020.12.008
    • Accession Number:
      33965665