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Edward Dutton

Edward Dutton (born 1980) is a British anthropologist and author specializing in evolutionary psychology, known for his research and writings on human intelligence, religious belief, population differences, and dysgenics. He has published extensively in academic journals and popular books, often exploring controversial topics such as the genetic basis of cognitive abilities and cultural decline, which have drawn both acclaim from certain scholarly circles and widespread criticism for promoting pseudoscientific or racially charged ideas.^[1]^[2] Dutton was educated at Durham University, where he earned a BA in Theology in 2002, followed by a PhD in Religious Studies from the University of Aberdeen in 2006, with a thesis on Christian fundamentalism in northern Ireland. His early career included positions as a guest researcher at Leiden University and adjunct roles in Finland, where he was appointed Docent in the Anthropology of Religion and Finnish Culture at the University of Oulu in 2011. Subsequent affiliations have included visiting lecturer at Riga Stradiņš University in 2012, Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at Asbiro University in Poland from 2020, Research Associate at the University of Tabuk in Saudi Arabia in 2021, and Honorary Professor at the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2023, though some of these roles have been part-time or honorary. Based in Oulu, Finland, since the early 2010s, Dutton maintains an independent research profile with over 180 publications and more than 1,100 citations as of 2025. Dutton's research often intersects evolutionary theory with social sciences, including studies on the negative correlation between intelligence and religiosity, the reverse Flynn effect (declining IQ scores in some populations), and biological influences on political and cultural behaviors. Notable academic contributions include co-authored papers with Richard Lynn on national IQ differences and genius-level intelligence, published in journals such as Intelligence and Evolutionary Psychological Science. His popular books, such as At Our Wits' End (2018, co-authored with Bruce Charlton), argue for dysgenic trends in modern societies leading to reduced intelligence; Making Sense of Race (2019), which examines genetic factors in racial group differences; and Breeding the Human Herd (2023), advocating eugenic policies to counter population decline. These works have been influential in alternative right and hereditarian communities but criticized for methodological flaws and ideological bias. Dutton's career has been marked by controversies, including a 2017 investigation by the University of Oulu that found him guilty of scientific misconduct for plagiarizing a student's work in a co-authored paper on Finnish IQ levels, leading to his removal from the docent list in 2020 despite Finnish legal protections for the title. The university publicly distanced itself from him in 2019, stating he was not employed there and his views did not align with their values of equality. Additional scrutiny arose in 2024 over a paper on "wokeness" and mental health, published that year and retracted in 2025 amid accusations of misrepresenting affiliations and methodological issues, with authors claiming political bias in the retraction. In 2024 reports linking him to a U.S.-funded network promoting race science. Critics, including anti-extremism organizations, have labeled his output as pseudoscientific and aligned with far-right ideologies, though Dutton defends his work as rigorous evolutionary inquiry.^[3]^[4]

Early life and education

Childhood and family background

Edward Dutton was born in 1980 in London, England.^[1]^[5] He was born three months prematurely, a personal experience that he later discussed in his 2022 book Sent Before Their Time: Genius, Charisma, and Being Born Prematurely, including an account of his own early childhood as a preemie.^[6]^[7] Details regarding his immediate family background and upbringing remain largely private, though Dutton has researched and published on his historical ancestry, such as a 2016 biography of his three-times great-grandfather Richard Dutton (1806–1880), a figure from Middlewich, Cheshire, connected to traditional English social structures.^[8]

Academic training

Dutton completed his undergraduate studies at Durham University, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theology in 2002. During this period, he was mentored by Rev’d Prof. Douglas Davies, a prominent anthropologist and theologian known for his work on the social-scientific study of religion and death. This mentorship provided early exposure to anthropological approaches to religious behavior, including sociobiological perspectives, and Dutton assisted in editing Davies' book Anthropology and Theology, which explored intersections between evolutionary theory and religious studies.^[1]^[9]^[10] Following his undergraduate degree, Dutton served as a Guest Researcher at Leiden University, where he further engaged with anthropological methods in the study of religion. He then pursued postgraduate research at the University of Aberdeen, completing a PhD in Religious Studies in 2006 under the supervision of Rabbi Prof. Seth Kunin, an anthropologist specializing in structuralist theories of religion, and Prof. Steve Bruce, a sociologist of secularization and religious movements. His doctoral thesis focused on Christian fundamentalism, examining it through the framework of rites of passage and the dynamics of student evangelical groups; it was later published as the book Meeting Jesus at University (2008).^[11]^[12] The PhD research involved detailed fieldwork across universities in six countries, analyzing how evangelical organizations function as modern religious sects and influence human behavior in transitional life stages. This work laid foundational insights into the evolutionary underpinnings of religious adherence, influenced by Kunin's emphasis on cognitive and structural models of belief systems. Dutton's training thus bridged theology, anthropology, and sociology, emphasizing empirical observation of religious communities without direct speculation on genetic factors at the time.^[13]

Academic career

Teaching positions

Edward Dutton's academic teaching career began following his PhD in Religious Studies from the University of Aberdeen in 2005, which qualified him for entry-level roles in higher education.^[14] In 2011, Dutton relocated to Finland and was appointed Docent (equivalent to Adjunct Professor or Associate Professor) in the Anthropology of Religion and Finnish Culture at the University of Oulu, a position that involved supervising doctoral students and occasional lecturing rather than full-time employment.^[15]^[12] This role marked his primary institutional affiliation for nearly a decade, during which he contributed to courses on anthropology and religion. In early 2012, he served as a Visiting Lecturer in the Anthropology of Religion at Riga Stradiņš University in Latvia, delivering specialized modules on religious studies.^[12] That same year, he conducted a guest lecture on the Anthropology of Religion at Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, Lithuania, as part of an invited academic exchange.^[12]^[16] Dutton's career progression faced challenges, including contract-based and honorary appointments that limited stability, as well as scrutiny over his publications. In 2016, he encountered a misconduct accusation at the University of Oulu related to an article on IQ testing in Finland, leading to an investigation that found instances of plagiarism from a student's work.^[2] Although Finnish regulations prevented the revocation of his Docent title at the time, the university publicly distanced itself from him in June 2019, stating that he was not employed there and that his views did not align with its values of equality and responsibility.^[17] By early 2020, Dutton was removed from the university's Docent register.^[12] These events highlighted the precarious nature of his adjunct status and the impact of his work on institutional affiliations. In September 2020, Dutton was appointed Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at Asbiro University, a private institution focused on business and applied sciences in Łódź, Poland, where he teaches courses on psychology and evolutionary theory.^[1]^[12] This full professorship represented a shift toward more stable teaching responsibilities amid ongoing transitions. In 2023, he was named Honorary Professor at the Institute of Psychology, Russian Academy of Sciences, involving advisory and occasional lecturing duties on evolutionary psychology topics.^[18] These later roles underscore his continued involvement in academia despite earlier setbacks, primarily through non-permanent or specialized positions.

Research affiliations

Dutton has been affiliated with the Ulster Institute for Social Research in London, where he contributed to quantitative studies on intelligence, genetics, and human differences under the direction of Richard Lynn, publishing several works through the institute including Religion and Intelligence: An Evolutionary Analysis in 2014.^[19]^[12] He served as editor-in-chief of Mankind Quarterly, a journal published by the Ulster Institute focusing on anthropology and social sciences, taking on the role around 2016 and continuing until at least 2019, during which he oversaw editorial content on topics like evolutionary psychology and cultural differences.^[20] Following his BA, Dutton served as a guest researcher at Leiden University in the Netherlands before completing his PhD. In 2015, he was a guest researcher in the Psychology Department at Umeå University in Sweden. From 2016, he acted as academic consultant to a research group in the Special Education Department at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. At the University of Oulu in Finland, Dutton held the position of docent in the Anthropology of Religion and Finnish Culture from 2011 until his removal in early 2020, providing a platform for his research on Finnish society.^[12]^[11] This affiliation supported projects examining Finnish genetics, intelligence, and cultural uniqueness, including studies on regional intelligence variations across Finland and the negative Flynn effect observed in the country from 1997 to 2009, which analyzed IQ trends among military conscripts. In 2021, he was appointed Research Associate in the Deanship of Scientific Research at the University of Tabuk in Saudi Arabia.^[12] Dutton's collaborative networks include extensive work with psychologist Richard Lynn, with whom he co-authored multiple publications on intelligence research, such as analyses of national IQ differences and their demographic correlates, as well as books like Race Differences in Psychopathic Personality: An Evolutionary Analysis (2019), which explores genetic and evolutionary factors in personality traits across populations.^[21]^[22] These collaborations often stemmed from his Ulster Institute ties and focused on large-scale data sets to map IQ variations globally.^[23]

Research themes

Evolutionary psychology and genetics

Edward Dutton's work in evolutionary psychology emphasizes the genetic and evolutionary underpinnings of human behavior, applying principles of natural and group selection to phenomena such as religion, sex differences, and social cooperation. He posits that many psychological traits, including those facilitating group cohesion, have evolved to enhance survival and reproduction in ancestral environments, with modern conditions altering their expression through changes in selection pressures. For instance, Dutton argues that sex differences in emotional responses, such as crying, reflect adaptive strategies shaped by differing reproductive roles, with women exhibiting higher rates due to evolutionary pressures favoring empathy and social bonding.^[24] Similarly, social cooperation is viewed as an evolved mechanism, often reinforced by cultural institutions like religion, which promote in-group altruism and reciprocity to boost collective fitness.^[19] A central concept in Dutton's research is the "spiteful mutant" hypothesis, which proposes that deleterious genetic mutations accumulate in populations under relaxed purifying selection, leading to individuals whose behaviors harm the reproductive success of others in the group. In pre-industrial societies, high child mortality acted as a natural filter, eliminating those carrying harmful mutations before they could reproduce; however, post-Industrial Revolution advancements in medicine and welfare have drastically reduced this mortality— from rates as high as 50% in some historical contexts to under 1% today—allowing mutations to persist and spread.^[25] These spiteful mutants, Dutton contends, exhibit anti-natalist tendencies, such as promoting ideologies or policies that discourage reproduction among genetically healthier individuals, contributing to observed declines in fertility rates in developed nations, where total fertility has fallen below replacement levels (e.g., 1.3-1.6 children per woman in many European countries as of 2024). This framework draws on evolutionary models of inclusive fitness, where mutations disrupt kin and group selection by favoring spiteful actions that reduce overall population viability without benefiting the mutant's own lineage.^[25] Dutton's investigations into genetic influences on intelligence and personality highlight substantial heritability, supported by twin studies showing that genetic factors account for 50-80% of variance in IQ scores among adults. For personality traits, such as those related to conscientiousness and extraversion, heritability estimates similarly range from 40-60%, indicating a strong biological basis that interacts with environmental cues. These findings stem from classical twin designs, where monozygotic twins reared apart exhibit greater similarity in cognitive and temperamental outcomes than dizygotic twins, underscoring the role of additive genetic effects over shared environment. Dutton integrates this with evolutionary theory, suggesting that selection for higher intelligence in complex societies has historically favored traits enabling social cooperation, though rising mutational loads may now erode these adaptations.^[26] In applying these ideas to religion, Dutton views religiosity as an evolved, group-selected trait that fosters social cohesion by enforcing moral norms and cooperative behaviors within communities, thereby enhancing survival in competitive environments. Twin studies estimate the heritability of religious belief at around 0.4 and ritual attendance at 0.3, indicating a moderate genetic component that aligns with its adaptive value in promoting in-group solidarity. He further links religious decline in modern societies to increased mutational loads, where higher genetic instability correlates with atheism or non-traditional beliefs, as evidenced by associations between fluctuating asymmetry (a marker of developmental instability) and rejection of collective religiosity; for example, meta-analyses show atheists scoring higher on such instability indicators. This genetic shift, Dutton argues, undermines the evolutionary benefits of religion, paralleling broader patterns of reduced social cooperation amid rising individualism.^[27]^[19]

Societal decline and cultural analysis

Edward Dutton's theory of decadence attributes societal decline to the accumulation of deleterious genetic mutations in high-mutation-load environments, resulting from relaxed natural selection following the Industrial Revolution. In such conditions, mutations that impair cognitive and social functioning proliferate, fostering cultural entropy characterized by reduced innovation, increased psychopathology, and erosion of traditional norms. Dutton argues this process manifests in observable trends, such as the rising prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (which mainstream science attributes primarily to improved diagnostics as of 2023), which he links to elevated mutational loads disrupting neural development and social cohesion.^[25] Similarly, he points to stagnating scientific output, exemplified by Nobel Prizes in sciences peaking around the mid-20th century before a relative decline (debated as per capita trends as of 2025), as evidence of diminishing genius-level innovation essential for civilizational maintenance.^[28] Dutton analyzes "woke" ideology as a maladaptive, mutation-driven phenomenon where individuals with high mutational loads promote self-destructive behaviors that undermine group fitness. In his view, wokeness encourages low-fertility lifestyles among its adherents, exacerbating dysgenic trends and contributing to social instability through polarization and nihilistic policies, with progressive demographics exhibiting fertility rates far below replacement levels (e.g., 1.3-1.5 as of 2024).^[25] He posits that this ideology, while appearing egalitarian, functions as an unwitting eugenic mechanism by discouraging reproduction among the genetically compromised. Dutton critiques immigration and multiculturalism as accelerators of decline, arguing they dilute high-trust, ethnocentric societies with lower-cohesion groups, amplifying mutational effects on social stability. He highlights Europe's total fertility rates falling below the 2.1 replacement level since the 1970s, attributing this partly to multicultural policies that disrupt traditional family structures and increase welfare dependency. Dutton warns that rapid demographic shifts via immigration erode evolutionary adaptations for cooperation, hastening cultural fragmentation.^[29] Dutton predicts inevitable societal collapse, analogizing modern Western trajectories to the fall of Rome, where genetic deterioration—evidenced by declining polygenic scores for intelligence—paralleled institutional decay and barbarian influxes. Drawing on evolutionary psychology, he forecasts a return to Malthusian conditions, with mutational overload rendering advanced societies unable to sustain complex infrastructure, ultimately yielding to more adaptive subgroups.^[25]

Publications

Major books

Edward Dutton has authored or co-authored numerous monographs exploring themes in evolutionary psychology, genetics, and cultural analysis, often published by academic and independent presses. His works frequently integrate anthropological insights with genetic and evolutionary theories to examine societal patterns, with several key books establishing foundational arguments in debates on intelligence, religion, and demographic shifts. Many of his later publications have appeared through Imperium Press, a publisher known for controversial titles on evolutionary and cultural topics.^[30]^[31] Dutton's early monograph, The Finnuit: Finnish Culture and the Religion of Uniqueness (2009), critiques Finnish nationalism through an anthropological lens, portraying national identity as a form of religious dogma rooted in Romanticism. Published by Akadémiai Kiadó, the book argues that claims of Finnish exceptionalism function similarly to sacred beliefs, suppressing critical inquiry and fostering cultural insularity. It draws on ethnographic observations and historical analysis to challenge the "religion of uniqueness" as a barrier to broader European integration.^[32]^[6] In At Our Wits' End: Why We're Becoming Less Intelligent and What It Means for the Future (2018), co-authored with Michael A. Woodley of Menie, Dutton examines the dysgenic decline in human intelligence due to relaxed natural selection in modern societies. Published by Imprint Academic, the book synthesizes data from IQ studies, genetic research, and historical trends to argue that industrialization has led to the accumulation of deleterious mutations, resulting in societal stagnation and reduced innovation. It posits that this genetic entropy threatens civilizational progress unless countered by renewed selective pressures.^[33]^[34] The Past is a Future Country: The Coming Conservative Demographic Revolution (2022), co-authored with J.O.A. Rayner-Hilles, presents a comprehensive theory of societal decadence driven by mutational load and weakened Darwinian selection since the Industrial Revolution. Issued by Imprint Academic, the work predicts that intelligent, religious conservatives will form resilient enclaves amid broader cultural collapse, using evolutionary models to forecast a demographic shift favoring traditional values. It integrates genetics, psychology, and sociology to explain phenomena like rising extremism and fertility differentials.^[35] Dutton's 2022 book Spiteful Mutants: Evolution, Sexuality, Religion, and Politics in the 21st Century, published by Radix, expands on the "spiteful mutant" hypothesis, proposing that genetic mutations in post-industrial populations promote anti-natalist behaviors and ideological extremism, akin to a societal "zombie apocalypse." The monograph applies evolutionary psychology to contemporary issues, arguing that such mutants undermine group fitness through spiteful policies on sexuality, religion, and governance. It has garnered attention in evolutionary circles for linking mutational theory to political polarization.^[36]^[6] More recent works include Breeding the Human Herd: Eugenics, Dysgenics and the Future of the Species (2023), published by Imperium Press, which compiles empirical data on dysgenic trends and advocates for eugenic interventions to reverse genetic decline. Building on prior themes, it analyzes historical eugenics movements alongside modern genomic evidence to warn of humanity's potential devolution. In 2024, Woke Eugenics: How Social Justice is a Mask for Social Darwinism, co-authored with J.O.A. Rayner-Hilles and also from Imperium Press, contends that progressive ideologies inadvertently promote self-selection against genetic mutants, preserving societal health despite apparent anti-eugenic rhetoric. Dutton's forthcoming Genius Under House Arrest: The Cancelation of James Watson (2025, Academica Press) critiques the suppression of scientific inquiry, using Watson's case to illustrate broader conflicts between evolutionary science and cultural norms.^[30]^[31]^[6]

Scholarly articles and essays

Edward Dutton has published numerous peer-reviewed articles in journals associated with evolutionary psychology and human biodiversity, often exploring themes of intelligence, genetics, and cultural differences. His contributions to Mankind Quarterly, a publication known for research on racial and ethnic variations, include examinations of national IQ disparities and related demographic factors. For instance, in a 2022 article co-authored with colleagues, Dutton analyzed IQ-family size correlations in Oman, finding a negative relationship that aligns with broader patterns in dysgenic fertility trends. Similarly, his 2015 paper on ethnic differences in darts achievement highlighted performance gaps attributable to cognitive and physical variances across groups.^[37] These works, frequently co-authored with researchers like Richard Lynn, build on updates to national IQ datasets, such as those extending The IQ of Nations framework to incorporate genetic and environmental correlates of racial differences in cognitive abilities.^[21] In evolutionary psychology journals, Dutton's 2010s papers on religiosity have garnered significant attention, with several exceeding 100 citations. His 2017 article in Evolutionary Psychological Science, co-authored with Dimitri van der Linden, proposed that the negative correlation between intelligence and religiousness stems from atheists' higher mutational loads impairing social conformity instincts central to religion. Extending this, a 2021 collaboration with Emil Kirkegaard in the Journal of Religion and Health argued that this nexus reflects a "Jensen effect," where general intelligence (g) inversely predicts religious commitment due to evolutionary pressures. On fertility, Dutton's 2022 paper in Evolutionary Psychological Science with Kirkegaard examined how higher intelligence among conservative and religious groups, including Latter-day Saints, may lead to differential reproductive success, potentially selecting for such traits over time.^[38] Dutton has also contributed essays to outlets like VDARE, which bridge academic analysis and public discourse on immigration and identity. A notable example is his undated piece "Making Sense of Race or Refuting Race-Deniers Like Angela Saini," critiquing egalitarian interpretations of genetic data on racial differences. These writings often reference his peer-reviewed findings to argue for the societal implications of ethnocentric attitudes varying by population. In recent years, including 2025 publications, Dutton has addressed wokeness and genetics in mainstream psychology journals. His 2016 article in Personality and Individual Differences with Guillaume Madison and Richard Lynn linked national ethnocentrism levels to IQ, economic development, and genetic factors, influencing discussions on cultural cohesion. A 2025 paper in Mankind Quarterly on a Flynn effect in Riyadh explored rising IQ scores amid modernization, while co-authored work in Scandinavian Journal of Psychology questioned conservative mental health advantages, attributing disparities to ideological and genetic influences—though the latter faced retraction amid controversy over its "woke" critique. These pieces underscore Dutton's ongoing impact in quantifying how genetic predispositions interact with contemporary social phenomena like identity politics.

Public activities

Online presence and media

Edward Dutton maintains a significant online presence through various platforms, where he disseminates his research on evolutionary psychology, genetics, and cultural topics to a broad audience beyond academic circles. His primary outlet is the YouTube channel "The Jolly Heretic," launched in 2018, which features monologues, documentaries, and interviews exploring themes such as historical genetics and societal evolution. By November 2025, the channel has amassed over 134,000 subscribers and approximately 16 million total views, with content often described as addressing "spicy" or controversial subjects that challenge mainstream narratives.^[39]^[2]^[40] A notable example of his self-produced video series is the exploration of "spiteful mutants," a concept Dutton uses to discuss genetic and behavioral factors in modern societal shifts, including videos like "How Can You Tell That Someone's a Spiteful Mutant?" which garnered over 36,000 views.^[41] He supplements this with podcast-style content, both self-hosted via his channel and appearances on external shows, to engage viewers on topics like intelligence decline and evolutionary pressures, often achieving tens of thousands of views per episode.^[42] These formats allow for direct interaction, with Dutton responding to comments and promoting his books through calls to action in video descriptions. Recent uploads as of November 2025 include discussions on historical DNA analyses and societal critiques.^[43] On social media, Dutton actively uses X (formerly Twitter) under the handle @jollyheretic to promote his publications, share research snippets, and debate critics on issues like race, religion, and intelligence.^[44] His posts, which blend academic insights with provocative commentary, help drive traffic to his YouTube and other platforms. Additionally, he operates a personal website at edwarddutton.com, featuring excerpts from his books, scholarly articles, and blog posts on evolutionary topics, with updates continuing through 2025.^[12] Complementing this is his Substack newsletter at jollyheretic.com, launched in 2023, which has grown to tens of thousands of subscribers and serves as a hub for uncensored essays and extended content.^[2] Recent posts include analyses of genetic studies and cultural commentary as of November 2025.^[45]

Lectures and interviews

Dutton served as Adjunct Professor (Docent) in the Anthropology of Religion and Finnish Culture at the University of Oulu in Finland from 2011 until his removal in 2020 following an investigation into scientific misconduct. During his tenure, he delivered lectures on topics such as the anthropology of religion and the interplay between religion, culture, and evolutionary processes.^[11]^[12]^[17] Dutton has presented at academic conferences on evolutionary psychology and related fields. At the 2017 London Conference on Intelligence, he delivered a paper titled "The Male Brain, Testosterone and Sex Differences in Professional Achievement," examining how autism-spectrum traits and hormonal factors contribute to gender disparities in high-achievement professions.^[46] In 2019, he spoke at the Traditional Britain Group Conference in London on ethnocentrism and social implications across populations.^[47] More recently, at the 2025 Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) Conference in London, Dutton presented on "Wokeness is a Selection Event," discussing evolutionary pressures and ideological shifts in modern societies.^[48] Dutton has appeared in several podcast interviews to discuss his research on intelligence and societal trends. In a 2018 episode of The Tom Woods Show (Episode 163), he explored declining population intelligence and its implications for civilization, drawing from his book At Our Wits' End.^[18] Dutton has participated in public debates on intelligence research and evolutionary topics. In September 2025, he debated evolutionary theory with content creator Made by Jimbob in a live online format, addressing genetic and behavioral hypotheses.^[49] Earlier, in January 2025, he engaged in a heated discussion on racial differences in intelligence and related hypotheses during an interview.^[50] These engagements often highlight his views on mutational load and societal decline, generating viral clips on platforms like YouTube.

Controversies

Criticisms of racial and intelligence research

Edward Dutton's research linking race to intelligence has faced significant accusations of pseudoscience from mainstream psychologists, particularly for its reliance on datasets compiled by Richard Lynn, whose national IQ estimates have been widely critiqued for methodological shortcomings such as small, non-representative samples, outdated testing, and selective data inclusion that inflates racial disparities.^[51] Dutton frequently co-authors with Lynn on topics like IQ decline and national differences, incorporating these contested IQ maps into analyses of ethnic behavioral variations, which critics argue perpetuates flawed correlations without accounting for environmental confounders like education and socioeconomic status.^[52] For instance, a 2022 review of national IQ estimates highlighted pervasive data quality issues in Lynn's compilations, including unverifiable sources and biases in test administration across countries, rendering them unreliable for cross-racial comparisons.^[53] Ethical concerns have also been raised regarding Dutton's promotion of ideas resembling eugenics, such as dysgenic trends in intelligence tied to racial groups, which echo discredited notions of inherent inferiority and selective breeding. The American Psychological Association (APA) has explicitly rebutted genetic explanations for racial IQ differences, stating in its 1996 task force report that while average score gaps exist, there is no scientific support for a genetic basis, emphasizing instead the role of cultural and environmental factors; the report warns against misusing such research to justify discrimination.^[54] Dutton's framing of racial differences in ethnocentrism and cognitive abilities as partly mutational has been linked by critics to eugenics-like advocacy, potentially fueling policies that disadvantage minority groups under the guise of evolutionary inevitability.^[54] Recent responses from 2023 to 2025 have targeted Dutton's application of mutation theories to racial contexts, such as in claims that genetic mutations underlie ethnic differences in social behaviors and intelligence, labeling these as unsubstantiated "just-so stories" that ignore gene-culture coevolution and clinal human variation. A 2024 PNAS analysis critiques evolutionary psychology frameworks, including those positing rapid mutations for group-specific traits like intelligence, as enabling scientific racism by overstating genetic determinism while downplaying cultural transmission and within-group diversity.^[55] These critiques extend to Dutton's "spiteful mutants" hypothesis, adapted to explain racial disparities in fertility and ideology, which scholars argue lacks empirical rigor and revives hereditarian pseudoscience without addressing environmental plasticity.^[56] In 2025, further scrutiny arose over the retraction of a co-authored paper titled "Do conservatives really have an advantage in mental health? An examination of measurement invariance," originally published in the Scandinavian Journal of Psychology in August 2024. The paper linked higher "wokeness" scores to poorer mental health outcomes, including anxiety, but was retracted in May 2025 amid concerns over methodological issues and potential political bias. The authors, including Dutton and Emil Kirkegaard, claimed the retraction was politically motivated, sparking debates on academic freedom and the validity of research on ideology and psychology. Critics viewed it as another example of flawed analysis in sensitive areas, while supporters argued it demonstrated censorship of conservative-leaning science.^[4]^[57] Peer reviews of Dutton's studies on ethnic differences in behavior have highlighted selection bias, such as non-random sampling from convenience populations that skew results toward preconceived racial stereotypes, and failure to control for confounds like test familiarity across groups. In examining ethnocentrism, Dutton's datasets often draw from limited, culturally homogeneous samples, leading to overgeneralizations about innate behavioral traits; a 2020 analysis of his co-authored work on French IQ trends noted interpretive biases in equating subtest declines with overall racial or ethnic inferiority, ignoring heterogeneous intelligence facets.^[58] Such flaws, reviewers contend, undermine the validity of conclusions on genetic influences over environmental ones in ethnic behavioral variations.^[59]

Associations with extremist figures

Edward Dutton has engaged in interviews with several figures associated with far-right ideologies, notably Jared Taylor, founder of American Renaissance, and Nick Fuentes, a white nationalist activist. In August 2023, Taylor interviewed Dutton on American Renaissance's platform, where they discussed topics including racial differences in intelligence and societal taboos.^[60] Similarly, Dutton interviewed Fuentes on his YouTube channel "The Jolly Heretic" in February 2022, covering themes such as white identity and political extremism, with the episode re-uploaded in later years.^[2] These interactions have drawn scrutiny from anti-extremism organizations, which view them as platforming individuals promoting white supremacist views.^[2] Dutton has also contributed multiple articles to VDARE, a website designated as a white nationalist hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for its promotion of anti-immigration and racial separatism ideologies. Notable pieces include a 2019 article analyzing racial differences in ethnocentrism and its implications for white identity, and a 2022 contribution on gender roles and hypergamy across cultures.^[61]^[62] A 2023 VDARE article by Dutton explored historical shifts in conservatism, linking them to evolutionary psychology.^[63] HOPE not hate has highlighted these contributions as part of Dutton's pattern of aligning with extremist outlets that advance pseudoscientific racial narratives.^[2] By 2024, further associations surfaced through revelations about the Human Diversity Foundation (HDF), which employs Dutton and controls his YouTube channel with over 130,000 subscribers as of November 2025.^[64]^[3] The HDF, funded by $1.3 million from U.S. tech executive Andrew Conru, promotes "race science" and has collaborated with rightwing extremists, including Erik Ahrens—a figure designated as a rightwing extremist by German authorities—who participated in HDF events discussing immigration and genetics.^[3] These ties extend Dutton's connections to networks blending academic-appearing research with far-right activism. Into 2025, Dutton's online output continued, with his Substack newsletter reaching 14,000 subscribers as of early 2025 and ranking among the top science publications on the platform as of November 2025, often reiterating themes that attract alt-right audiences.^[2]^[65] In November 2025, Dutton published "Genius Under House Arrest: The Cancelation of James Watson," defending the DNA pioneer James Watson, who died on November 8, 2025, amid renewed attention to his history of racist comments on race and intelligence. The book aligns with Dutton's broader advocacy for hereditarian views and criticism of "cancel culture" in science, drawing further criticism for associating with discredited figures in the field.^[6]^[66] In response to criticisms of his associations, Dutton has defended his work by emphasizing academic freedom and the need to challenge censorship of evolutionary psychology research on sensitive topics like genetics and culture.^[67] He co-authored a 2016 book arguing that conformity in academia stifles inquiry into controversial areas, positioning such engagements as exercises in free speech rather than endorsements of extremism.^[67]

References

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Edward Dutton - Imprint Academic
Edward Dutton is a researcher based in Oulu in northern Finland. Born in London in 1980, Dutton read Theology at Durham University before completing a PhD in ...
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Author pens book about Chester man who changed Henry VIII's pants
Feb 25, 2016 · Born in London in 1980, Edward Dutton (known as Ed) is now adjunct Professor of the Anthropology of Religion at Oulu University in Finland.
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20. Dutton, E. (2023). Breeding the Human Herd: Eugenics, Dysgenics and the Future of the Species. Melbourne: Imperium Press.
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In Sent Before Their Time, Edward Dutton, who was born 3 months early himself, explores the massive and disproportionately high impact that people born ...
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Academic publishes biography of his 'bloodthirsty' ancestor
Mar 6, 2016 · “His father and grandfather were raised around Middlewich. My three times great grandfather was Richard Dutton of Stanthorne Hall (1806-80) who ...
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Professor Douglas Davies - Durham University
Davies is an anthropologist and theologian specialising in the history, theology, and social-scientific study of death. Educated in Social Anthropology (1966-69) ...
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https://www.amazon.com/Sent-Before-Their-Time-Prematurely/dp/0645212636
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Eye-glazing and the anthropology of religion
Edward Dutton, University of Oulu. Edward Dutton completed his BA in Theology at Durham University, and was then a Guest Researcher at Leiden University ...
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Edward Dutton | Researcher in Evolutionary Psychology
Edward Dutton ... I was made Docent of the Anthropology of Religion and Finnish Culture at Oulu University in Finland – I'm based in Oulu – in 2011.
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Religion: The Modern Theories - Seth Daniel Kunin - Google Books
A comprehensive and approachable introduction to social scientific theories of religion as they have developed in the twentieth century.
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Edward Dutton - Estudios Irlandeses
Edward Dutton is Adjunct Professor of the Anthropology of Religion at Oulu University in Finland. He has a BA in Theology from Durham University and a PhD ...Missing: profile | Show results with:profile
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Ed Dutton | The Guardian
Feb 23, 2016 · Edward Dutton is adjunct professor (Docent) of Anthropology at Oulu University in Finland. He is a British citizen and has a Finnish wife and two children.
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[PDF] STUDENTS´ SOCIAL EMOTIONAL HEALTH AND LINKS TO ... - VDU
Abstract. Priority of today's educational psychologists in schools is well-being of students in schools. The main objective of this research: to investigate ...
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Dutton taught at University of Oulu in Finland but was removed after an investigation by the university found him guilty of plagiarising a student's ...Missing: controversies | Show results with:controversies
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Jun 28, 2019 · Edward Dutton is not employed by University of Oulu, and his actions do not represent our values emphasizing equality and responsibility.Missing: profile | Show results with:profile
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Wokeness and Intelligence with Edward Dutton - YouTube
Dec 4, 2024 · Edward Dutton is Professor of Evolutionary Psychology, Asbiro University, Poland and Hon. Professor, Institute of Psychology, ...Missing: training education degrees
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Edward Dutton conclusively demonstrates that the more intelligent are less religious than the less intelligent both within countries and across the world.Missing: PhD thesis fundamentalism
[18]
About - Mankind Quarterly
Editorial Panel. Editor. Gerhard Meisenberg. Advisory Board. Ahmed M. Abdel ... Edward Dutton, Oulu, Finland Lee Ellis, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Aurelio José ...
[19]
Mankind Quarterly - Wikipedia
Previous editors include Roger Pearson, Edward Dutton, and Richard Lynn. Publisher. The Mankind Quarterly was published by the Ulster ...
[20]
National IQs and their demographic correlates - ScienceDirect.com
My cooperation with Richard Lynn started in February 1999 when I contacted him and asked whether he could give me more information about his studies on ...Missing: collaboration | Show results with:collaboration
[21]
Race Differences in Psychopathic Personality: An Evolutionary ...
30-day returnsIn this book, eminent personality researcher Richard Lynn marshals an enormous body of evidence to demonstrate clear and consistent race differences in ...Missing: collaboration | Show results with:collaboration
[22]
‪E dutton‬ - ‪Google Scholar‬
National, sex and academic discipline difference in smartphone addiction: A study of students in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Sudan
[23]
Sex Differences in Crying | Request PDF - ResearchGate
Another entry is devoted to sex differences in crying (Madison and Dutton 2019) . Crying increases again in late adulthood and in old age, while the sex ...
[24]
Spiteful Mutants: Sexuality, Religion and Politics in the 21st Century
In Spiteful Mutants, evolutionary psychologist Edward Dutton argues that we are experiencing a “zombie apocalypse” of our own.
[25]
Edward Dutton - Religion and Intelligence, An Evolutionary Analysis ...
Rating 5.0 (1) Edward Dutton - Religion and Intelligence, An Evolutionary Analysis ... PhD Thesis: California Institute of Integral Studies. Spearman, C. (1904) ...
[26]
[PDF] The Mutant Says in His Heart, “There Is No God”: the Rejection of ...
Dec 20, 2017 · Dutton, E., & Van der Linden, D. (2017). Why is intelligence negatively associated with religiousness? Evolutionary Psychological Science,. 3, ...
[27]
Breeding the Human Herd - Imperium Press
In stockMay 12, 2023 · In Breeding the Human Herd, Edward Dutton brings together a massive body of data to explain the causes behind our dysgenic collapse.
[28]
Woke Eugenics - Imperium Press
In stockJul 17, 2024 · In this provocative book, it is argued that wokeness drives the genetically sick to self-select out of the gene pool, and so the political right should welcome ...
[29]
The Finnuit: Finnish Culture and the Religion of Uniqueness
... Indeed, it has 6 EDWARD DUTTON long been held that education is a more significant element in Finnish social stratification than in many comparable ...Missing: Academy | Show results with:Academy
[30]
At Our Wits' End - Books - Imprint Academic
In stock 5-day deliveryAt Our Wits' End. £14.95. Why We're Becoming Less Intelligent and What it Means for the Future. Edward Dutton and Michael Woodley of Menie. We ...<|separator|>
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At Our Wits' End: Why We're Becoming Less Intelligent and What It ...
We are becoming less intelligent. This is the shocking yet fascinating message of At Our Wits' End. The authors take us on a journey through the growing ...Missing: Vytautas Magnus
[32]
The Past is a Future Country: The Coming Conservative ...
The authors show how a resistant class of intelligent, religious conservatives will band together to preserve enclaves of civilization that may survive most of ...
[33]
Spiteful Mutants: Evolution, Sexuality, Religion, and Politics in the ...
In Spiteful Mutants, evolutionary psychologist Edward Dutton argues that we are experiencing a zombie apocalypse of our own.Missing: differences cooperation
[34]
[PDF] Ethnic Differences in Achievement in Darts - Semantic Scholar
Ethnic Differences in Achievement in Darts · E. Dutton · Published 1 September 2015 · Sociology, Psychology · Mankind Quarterly.
[35]
https://www.amazon.com/Past-Future-Country-Conservative-Demographic/dp/1788360753
[36]
The Jolly Heretic - YouTube
The Jolly Heretic. @TheJollyHeretic. 134K subscribers•596 videos. Join my Substack: https://www.jollyheretic.com/ ...more. Join my Substack: https://www ...
[37]
How Can You Tell That Someone's a Spiteful Mutant? - YouTube
Mar 29, 2023 · How Can You Tell That Someone's a Spiteful Mutant? 36K views ...
[38]
The Rise of Spiteful Mutants with Edward Dutton Interview (Mirror)
Oct 13, 2019 · Video is from the channel, "On The Offensive". Channel Link: / channel. The Rise of Spiteful Mutants with Edward Dutton Interview (Mirror).
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https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMRs0Ml8RF0cWVAOeQeBxTw
[40]
[PDF] London Conference on Intelligence Report Forward UCL is today ...
Feb 28, 2020 · Edward Dutton*. Ulster Institute for Social Research. Lynn argues that sex differences in intelligence and drive. (underpinned by testosterone) ...<|separator|>
[41]
Edward Dutton _ Traditional Britain Conference 2019 - YouTube
Nov 1, 2019 · A very animated and engaging performance as expected from Dr. Edward Dutton on the ethnocentrism of peoples and the wider social ...
[42]
Wokeness is a Selection Event | Ed Dutton at ARC2025 - YouTube
Feb 26, 2025 · Connie Shaw talks to Ed Dutton at the ARC Conference 2025 about his new book and experiences Follow Connie Shaw: https://x.com/_ConnieShaw ...Missing: Edward 2024-2025
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DEBATE: ‪@MadebyJimbob‬ Vs Dr. Ed Dutton of ‪@TheJollyHeretic‬
Sep 20, 2025 · Grab your TICKETS (or check out sponsor options for your YouTube channel ... Of Demography & Destiny | with Edward Dutton, Jolly Heretic. Benjamin ...Missing: creation date
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Edward Dutton's CONTROVERSIAL Views on Different RACES
Jan 8, 2025 · Dutton and I engage in a heated debate about racial harmony and David Duke, after he explains his studies and hypotheses about woke mutants ...Missing: public intelligence
[45]
IQ and the Wealth of Nations. A Critique of Richard Lynn and Tatu ...
Aug 6, 2025 · Richard Lynn and Tatu Vanhanen have presented evidence that differences in national IQ account for the substantial variation in national per capita income and ...
[46]
Declining global IQ: reality or moral panic? - Polytechnique Insights
Nov 2, 2023 · IQ decline: a moral panic. Edward Dutton and Richard Lynn (British anthropologist and psychologist) have put forward a theory in the media ...
[47]
[PDF] National Mean IQ Estimates: Validity, Data Quality, and ... - Gwern.net
Sep 30, 2022 · The purpose of this article is to evaluate the quality of estimates of mean national IQs, discuss the validity of different interpretations and ...Missing: Edward | Show results with:Edward
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Confronting past wrongs and building an equitable future
Mar 1, 2022 · Other APA leaders actively supported eugenics for decades, calling for sterilization initiatives for “unfit and inferior races.”
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Genes, culture, and scientific racism - PNAS
Nov 18, 2024 · Quantitative studies of cultural evolution and gene-culture coevolution (henceforth “CE” and “GCC”) emerged in the 1970s, in the aftermath ...
[50]
The dysgenics objection to longtermism - ScienceDirect.com
Strong longtermism maintains that how we should act morally is determined almost entirely by the expected effects on the welfare of our descendants.
[51]
No negative Flynn effect in France: Why variations of intelligence ...
In 2015, Dutton and Lynn published a study claiming that intelligence scores in France are decreasing. This study was based on data collected by the publisher ...
[52]
Demographic, economic, and genetic factors related to national ...
Aug 7, 2025 · However, Dutton et al. (2016) did not find a significant relationship between negative ethnocentrism and age, similar to the findings of our ...
[53]
Interview With Ed Dutton, the Jolly Heretic - American Renaissance
Aug 14, 2023 · Jared Taylor and Finland-based Ed Dutton take you on a jolly demolition tour through some of our most rigidly defended taboos: race differences ...
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On Edward Dutton's RACE DIFFERENCES IN ETHNOCENTRISM ...
Jun 8, 2019 · Finland-based English anthropologist Dr Edward Dutton was fascinated by the huge differences in how different ethnic groups reacted to these ...
[55]
Dutton's Rule—Women Across The World Marry Up, Which Shows ...
Oct 12, 2022 · The New York Attorney General has crippled VDARE with onerous subpoena demands. Now, more than ever, we need your support to fight back against ...
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Why Were the Victorians So Much More Conservative ... - VDARE.com
Jun 20, 2023 · Edward Dutton (email him | Tweet him) is Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at Asbiro University, Łódź, Poland. You can see him on his ...<|separator|>
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Revealed: International 'race science' network secretly funded by US ...
Oct 16, 2024 · An international network of “race science” activists seeking to influence public debate with discredited ideas on race and eugenics has been operating
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Academic Freedom in an Age of Conformity - SpringerLink
The book argues that a challenge to this culture of conformity and censorship and a defence of academic free speech are needed for critique to be possible and ...Missing: defense | Show results with:defense