Tatu Vanhanen

Tatu Vanhanen (17 April 1929 – 22 August 2015) was a Finnish political scientist and sociologist. He was a professor of political science at the University of Tampere in Tampere, Finland. His late research on IQ, ethnocentrism and their connection to the economy was highly controversial.

Vanhanen was a coauthor with Richard Lynn of IQ and the Wealth of Nations (2002) and IQ and Global Inequality (2006), and author of Ethnic Conflicts Explained by Ethnic Nepotism (1999). In these controversial publications, the authors argue that differences in national income (in the form of per capita gross domestic product) are correlated with differences in the average national intelligence quotient (IQ). The 2006 follow-up study, later described by ScienceDaily as 'deeply flawed', claimed to show 'Africans' have an average IQ of 69, compared to a mean of 100 for "Western Europeans".

The books have drawn widespread criticism from other academics. Critiques have included questioning of the methodology used, the incompleteness of the data, and the conclusions drawn from the analysis.

Work

Vanhanen developed an interest in evolutionary biology after studying E. O. Wilson's sociobiology and later in his career wrote about intelligence and inequality. He supported applying evolutionary and genetic methods to social sciences.

In 2004, the Ombudsman of Minorities, Mikko Puumalainen, asked the police to start an investigation regarding Vanhanen's interview with a Helsingin Sanomat magazine Kuukausiliite, in which he stated that "Whereas the average IQ of Finns is 97, in Africa it is between 60 and 70. Differences in intelligence are the most significant factor in explaining poverty". The Finnish National Bureau of Investigations was considering launching a preliminary investigation on Vanhanen's speech but later decided against it, not finding that he had incited hatred against an ethnic group or committed any other crime.

Personal life Tatu Vanhanen was married to Anni Tiihonen and had three sons. One of them, Matti Vanhanen, was the Prime Minister of Finland from 2003 to 2010.

Vanhanen died on 22 August 2015 after a long period of illness, aged 86.

Bibliography in English Books