PC-ism: The death of intellectual exploration?

Question

The former president of the APA, Robert Perloff warns that:

"Psychology, social work, and psychiatry have been captured by an ultraliberal feminist agenda." Certain points of view are "squelched" by "special interest mafia groups", which use "shunning, intimidation, and blacklisting" to achieve results.

He concludes:
"I have lived through McCarthyism and the Hollywood witchhunts. As abominable as those were, there was not the insidious sense of intellectual intimidation that currently exists under political correctness."

Could the PC movement slow intellectual exploration? Is it worth it, in the name of carefully promoting tolerance and other noble goals, if certain areas are not explored by science and certain questions are not asked? Is it fair to subject psychologists who present unpopular findings to blacklisting, in order to prevent anyone from being offended?

The APA monitor states, in the official publication of the American Psychological Association states: "some of the best psych. research suffers for the sake of political correctness". (B. Azar, APA monitor 28, 1997)

Another report is called "PC or Not PC? Contemporary challenges to unpopular research findings." That article found that at least two psych. researchers were threatened with lawsuits: one stated that there were harmful effects to daycare, one had found that most married women polled do NOT want to be "breadwinners". (D.F. Halpern, R. Gilbert, and S. Coren, 1996)

Robert Perloff, as I stated, is the former president of the APA.

Answer 1

I posted a question earlier today to ask about 'blame' in cases where the government and professionals have been 'bought'. Overwhelmingly, it seemed, people wanted to blame all involved...those who were doing the buying, and those who were selling.

Using your example of psychology, social work and psychiatry, I believe that those 'disciplines' have to be held accountable for caving in to the pressures of the special interest groups. There will always be lobbies and groups who will work very hard to pressure our government and our societal professionals to play along with their agenda...but we need to hold those government officials and professionals to a higher standard and expect them to do the RIGHT thing.

This is very much how I feel about the claim that feminism is responsible for the unfair bias against fathers in the family court system. I am not one to stand and defend feminism too often, but I also don't believe in blaming the wrong party. And in that particular case, I think that the anti-feminists are barking up the wrong tree. If they are unhappy (and so they should be) with the unfair advantages granted women in the judicial system...then it is the judicial system that should be standing trial for caving to the pressures of feminism.

Answer 2

ALL major trees of research are highly "PC" driven, one way or another. Research and the course of our exploration into the world around us and into ourselves is nothing but subjective and political push and shove by special interests and social engineering agendas. Controlling exploration, revelation and information is part of power politics. I despise the suppression of any research. Academia is fraught with it's own internal politics, which is truly sickening enough. But, also, all research is scrutinized by the current "powers-that-be" in government and is highly vulnerable to transient, subjective "PC" cultural repressions and controls. Religious PACS are the worst at research suppression. For example, a young researcher did an outstanding and thorough project on ergot, a fungus that frequently infects edible grain. When ingested by humans, ergot infested grain causes hallucinations, messianic delusions, heighten superstition and vulnerability to suggestion and mass hysteria. In years when edible grains are highly infected with the fungus, humans go a little mad. The researcher found through exhumed body tissue samples and ancient kernels of grains found by archaeologists, that the people during the Salem Witch trials were seriously gorked on ergot infested grain. He also put the same pieces together for the periods and locales of Jesus and Muhammad and he found that their people were EXTREMELY gorked on ergot during the years when those religions rose out of the desert. You should have seen how fast THAT research got like shelved. : )

Answer 3

Oh my...you took it a step further. Love the quotes from Mr. Perloff. I remember visiting friends in California last summer, and some of the guests at their party were quite shocked and maybe taken a little back that I would refer to someone by their ethnic background, social standing, etc. Gee...I wasn't offensive by doing this, I thought.

How generic and boring even social interaction has become!

Answer 4

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Answer 5

I need to see specific examples of this person's claims before I can start believing him.

Answer 6

Yes, but the PS3ism and textism are more corruptive.

Answer 7

No academic or scientific findings should be silenced. They can be criticized, they can be proven wrong, or they can be ignored, but they can't be silenced.