Debate within the academic community is seen by most outsiders as the zenith of free speech. Not only are academics permitted to pursue politically incorrect lines of research, when their research bears fruit they are lauded for breaching social taboos. For instance, our widespread awareness of how great premarital sex is due predominantly to the pioneering work of Alfred Kinsey. Eminent sexologist Alfred Kinsey. OK, some would say it’s a little too free.

However, I think most of us have committed ourselves to the belief that the advancement of scientific knowledge is a boon to society. This also commits us to the institutional requirements for good science, which includes an open arena for ideas. Occasionally the boundaries of this arena are discussed directly by academics.

Like when Harvard President Lawrence Summers suggested that there might be reasons outside of patriarchal domination that could explain why women are underrepresented in engineering. Unfortunately for Mr. Summers, academia wasn’t quite ready to question the feminist critique of society. So he was admonished and eventually asked to leave.

More recently the issue has been raised in regards to a psychologist from California State University, named Kevin MacDonald. His work revolves around describing the social-psychology of the Jewish race.

This includes such bold investigations as why Jews separate themselves from other ethnic groups, why they disproportionately influence Western intellectual and political movements, and why they like bagels so much.

His research has been generously described as “controversial.” Although complaints about his research have been long-standing, many more have surfaced as a result of CSU’s recent forum on human rights. Critics are primarily concerned with the university’s unwillingness to disavow his views as not representative of their institution.

Although I am sympathetic to the view that MacDonald should not be restricted in the scope of his research, it’s hard to defend the extremely low quality of his work.

He claims to have been “train[ed] as an evolutionist,” and uses that perspective to frame his theories. From the excerpts of his work that I was able to read on his public Web site, he is an evolutionary psychologist in name only.

Evolutionary theorists of all stripes, and especially psychologists, have often been accused of simply rephrasing their viewpoints using evolution buzz words, like “survival” and “fitness.” Normally this is unfounded, or at best unimportant, but with MacDonald’s work it definitely rings true.

All he really seems to be doing is collecting superficially related evidence and rephrasing it so that it accords with his perception of Jews, which he conveniently portrays as a monolithic ethnic group.

Evolution contributes to his theories only insofar that it obscures the path he takes to his predetermined conclusion.

So this guy is pretty reprehensible. Although ignoring him might be an option, I think it would be irresponsible of us to do so. After all, he is out there doing serious damage to impressionable minds.

So is CSU responsible for taking some action against him, like discrediting him by putting a disclaimer on their Web site?

Or a more pertinent question might be, are we? Because, as I was dismayed to learn, Kevin MacDonald received a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Illinois.

The underlying issue I think we should consider here is how we ought to feel toward other individuals in our community that we are not proud of. This is an especially difficult question when the actions they take are morally reprehensible, or even horrifying.

Are we in some way responsible for them?

Or are we simply responsible for stating clearly and unequivocally that we wish they had nothing in common with us.

Well, even if they no longer belong to our community, we must acknowledge that at one point the same things that drew us here also drew them. And although it might be terrifying to think that we share something with them, we do.

I take full responsibility for the fact that we contributed, in some small part, to the creation of this monstrosity.

But I’m still proud to be from Illinois.

Justin is a senior in religious studies, and he just changed his profile picture.