Philosophy fellow Nathan Cofnas argued in favour of “the preservation of racial distinctions” and “race realism” in a controversial blog-post published on Monday.

Cofnas claimed that, “in a meritocracy, Harvard faculty would be recruited from the best of the best students, which means the number of black professors would approach 0%.”

“Blacks would disappear from almost all high-profile positions outside of sports and entertainment,” he said.

Cofnas, who is an early career fellow at the faculty of philosophy, advocates for a “hereditarian revolution” which he calls “both feasible and desirable”.

This school of thought claims genetics have a significant role in determining human characteristics, such as intelligence.

According to the Leverhulme early career fellow: “‘Race realism’ is the best term to describe the scientifically correct position. When the elites accept race realism, we can construct a better world.”

Cofnas was hired by the University in 2022 after sparking controversy for claiming there are “intelligence differences” among racial groups in a 2019 journal article.

Following Cofnas’ appointment, students launched a petition calling for him to be sacked.

Dr Bronwen Everill, Director of the University’s centre of African studies, has told Varsity that the University’s continued employment of Cofnas “is like having a flat earther on the physics faculty - it’s embarrassing”.

Cofnas argued in the post: “Those who truly value diversity should favor the preservation of racial distinctions. There must be some barriers set up between races in order for each one to express its own unique genius.”

“And in the case of group conflict, racial tribalism can sometimes be the key to solving collective-action problems. If whites are attacked qua whites, it makes sense for them to fight back as whites,” he continued.

Cofnas argues that the “hereditarian revolution” would not lead to genocide, remarking “the delusion of racial sameness isn’t what is holding the elites back from mass murder”. Cofnas claims “the DEI [diversity, equality and inclusion] devil may be more dangerous”.

He wrote: “Brainwashing generations of children to believe that intractable group differences are the fault of a particular race (whites) that will soon be a shrinking minority can end in a dark place.”

“Even now, when wokism does not pose a serious physical threat to anyone, it has poisoned art, culture, scholarship, and social relationships. White children are brainwashed to despise themselves because of their skin color. Anecdotally, white children are sometimes driven to transgenderism in an attempt to escape the shameful status of oppressor,” he alleged.

An earlier blog-post (02/01) entitled “Why We Need to Talk about the Right’s Stupidity Problem”, Cofnas claimed: “[It is] literally easier for me to be hired by the University of Cambridge than it is to publish in National Review or the American Conservative.”

In response to Cofnas’s statements, Maroof Rafique, the SU’s BME sabbatical officer expressed his “profound concern and disagreement with the views presented in [the blog].”

Rafique continued, saying: “The notion that racial tribalism could solve collective-action problems is a regressive and harmful approach to addressing societal issues. It fosters division rather than unity and ignores the shared human values that bind us.”

Dr Everill told Varsity: “It’s a shame that, in an era when so many young academics doing groundbreaking scholarship based on real research are struggling to find jobs, others, hired purely to promote an anti-woke agenda, use the University’s brand to write click-bait blog posts.”

“Unfortunately, some people can’t seem to tell the difference between the kind of thinking, research, and grounded argumentation that is the real work of universities and being “edgy” by spouting off poorly-argued, sophomorically-written, and scientifically-unsound views that were “debated” a hundred years ago,” Everill said.

Cofnas told Varsity: “I was awarded a fellowship to work on a project on the biological basis of moral norms. I am free to express my views on science, politics, and culture in accordance with the University’s free speech policy.”

“Some of the quotes you presented to me are taken out of context. For example, ‘There must be some barriers set up between races in order for each one to express its own unique genius’. The main point of the larger passage is that I am opposed to white nationalism and to ‘quarantining’ people based on race,” he continued.

“‘Race realism’ is a standard term used in the philosophy of biology,” he claimed.

“Regarding my comment about being hired by Cambridge as a philosopher on the right, my point is that liberal establishment institutions are often more supportive of controversial thinkers than their conservative counterparts,” Cofnas said.

Professor Angela Breitenbach, chair of the faculty of philosophy, said: “The views expressed in these blogs do not represent the views of the Faculty of Philosophy. The Faculty strives to be a leader in defending equality and fostering inclusion. There is no place for racism at the University of Cambridge.”