Race : a social destruction of a biological concept
Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
Biology and Philosophy
Publication Date
3-1-2010
Volume
25
Issue
2
First Page
143
Last Page
162
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Keywords
Race, Social constructivism, Genetics, Geographical ancestry, Human variation, Philosophy of science
Abstract
It is nowadays a dominant opinion in a number of disciplines (anthropology, genetics, psychology, philosophy of science) that the taxonomy of human races does not make much biological sense. My aim is to challenge the arguments that are usually thought to invalidate the biological concept of race. I will try to show that the way ‘‘race’’ was defined by biologists several decades ago (by Dobzhansky and others) is in no way discredited by conceptual criticisms that are now fashionable and widely regarded as cogent. These criticisms often arbitrarily burden the biological category of race with some implausible connotations, which then opens the path for a quick eliminative move. However, when properly understood, the biological notion of race proves remarkably resistant to these deconstructive attempts. Moreover, by analyzing statements of some leading contemporary scholars who support social constructivism about race, I hope to demonstrate that their eliminativist views are actually in conflict with what the best contemporary science tells us about human genetic variation.
DOI
10.1007/s10539-009-9193-7
Print ISSN
01693867
E-ISSN
15728404
Publisher Statement
Copyright © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Neven, S. (2010). Race: A social destruction of a biological concept. Biology and Philosophy, 25(2), 143-162. doi: 10.1007/s10539-009-9193-7