Sunday, July 24, 2011

Discredited Hauser Resigns from Harvard to Pedal Eviliciousness

Harvard neuroscientist Marc D. Hauser, apopular teacher and writer, will resign on August 1. Nearly a year ago an internal investigation found him guilty of eight instances of scientific misconduct and in April the psychology department voted not to allow him to teach when classes begin in the fall.

In his resignation letter, Hauser says that he plans to focus on "new and interesting challenges", including"extremely interesting and rewarding work focusing on the educational needs of at-risk teenagers" and "exciting opportunities in the private sector."

It may be years before a full report on Hauser's alleged misconduct is published. However, it appears that there had been problems with the authenticity of the data in several of his papers.

At last report, Viking Penguin still plans to publish Hauser's next book, Evilicious: Explaining Our Evolved Taste forBeing Bad. As the author of several popular books, Hauser was a spokesman for the view that morality is biologically based and that no actions are inherently right or wrong. However, his sudden fall from grace does not appear to have cast a shadow on this increasingly accepted view. ~ ScienceInsider, July 20

1 comment:

George Patsourakos said...

Apparently, there is evidence that Hauser has "fudged" some of his research that appeared in professional publications. In other words, he pretended to have conducted research studies -- and based his "findings" on these studies -- when in reality he did not conduct these studies.

I don't blame the Psychology Department at Harvard University for refusing to allow him to remain in it.