Karl Pearson and the Galtonian Tradition: Studies in the Rise of Quantitative Social Biology.

This work discusses the growth of a 'Galtonian tradition' in Science, notably as developed by Karl Pearson and his colleagues. It traces the development from Galton's ideas,in Britain, of the disciplines of Statistics,Biometrical Genetics and the Psychology of individual differences. These developments were linked with a number of philosophical and ideological commitments on the parts of the scientists concerned, and the work examines the interplay between these commitments and the theorising of the scientists.It looks also at the relations that may have held between these commitments and the social milieux of the scientists. Particular attention is given to the role of the strong and influential Eugenics movement which flourished in Britain at the time of these developments