ABSTRACT
Mental retardation (MR) is arbitrarily and conventionally defined by an intelligence quotient (IQ) of less than 70. It would therefore seem logical that a history of mental retardation be preceded by a brief history of mental normality and even of mental superiority, coinciding to a large extent with the emergence and consolidation of the concept of IQ. This implies entering a very controversial and divisive field, in fact a minefield. Because, while a formal, ‘‘scientific’’ measurement of intelligence has served the study of mental retardation well, its application to society at large has had disastrous consequences. The reason why the word ‘‘eugenics’’ still has a sinister ring to it is largely rooted in the misuse of
IQ to measure intelligence and to uphold the idea of its heritability. Much harm was done and much suffering was caused by the social consequences of this stance, and while the condemnation of extremes, such as Nazi eugenics, is universal, the realization that eugenics was born and largely applied in respectable societies is too easily forgotten.
