Good thread on naming things after people whose views are now considered unacceptable, in this case the phenomenally brilliant RA Fisher, who was also an staunch eugencist.
At UCL we are going through this process many times over, with a formal enquiry into our eugenics past, notably with Galton in mind, but also Pearson, Fisher, and others.
My views on this topic are complex, and for e.g. I see little problem with renaming things that were established many years after the person concerned had died, as with the Pearson and Galton buildings at UCL
This is not whitewashing or erasing history. Instead, we should use these opportunities to expose and educate ourselves about the past, and recognise that great people can also be awful people.
As for the Galton professorship, my own view is that it should be kept, for the specific reason that his codicil that outlines the principles of his legacy does not ask for the promotion of eugenics, but for education about eugenics.
...including public and internal lectures and research for greater understanding of eugenics. Would not the biggest fuck-you to Galton - a scientific genius and a profoundly racist man - to use his endowment to do the opposite of his intentions?
After all, science is about removing human psychological baggage from our understanding of reality.
Anyway. I know that this debate will rumble on, and I just hope that we can be mature enough not to entrench ourselves in superficial furrows that reinforce political schisms.
I know some will says 'ah but what about Darwin, he was really sexist' (which is true) 'we should erase the berzillions of things named after him', (or many other examples).
This type of platitudinous provocation serves no-one. We need nuance and sophistication in these important conversations. These should be opportunities to understand our own histories, great, shitty or otherwise.
In science, we stand on the shoulders of giants, that great Newtonian phrase which itself references Bernard of Chartres, who was referencing the legend of Orion the Hunter, who, temporarily blinded, placed is dwarf servant on his shoulders to continue the hunt.
But we should also recognise that we stand on the shoulders of bastards, whether we know it or not. And we should know it, which is why these are moments for education.
BUT! These sorts of decisions should be made inclusively. They must include the voices of people who would have been most affected by our intellectual forebears’ racism.
