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Philosphical Aspects of the 'AAA Statement on "Race"
Subject(s): Anthropology | Common-Sense Racial Categories | Mixed Race | Race | Racial Essentialism | Taxonomy of Human Race | Human Race Taxonomy In: Anthropological Theory 1(4)Summary: I apply philosphical analysis to the 'AAA Statement on "Race"' (American Anthropological Assosiation, 1998) and the commentary on its earlier draft published in the Anthropology Newsletter (1997). Racial essentialism is the theory that there are distinct and general human biological traits that determine racial membership and cause the presence of specific racial traits. This theory is false, as is the belief that a taxanomy of human races, or race, exists. But the 1998 'AAA Statement on "Race"' fails to repudiate racial essentialism, contrinutors spoke past one another in confusing population-based measures of human diversity with race. The same confusion clouds contemporary concerns about the relevance of common-sense racial categories to medical diagnosis and treatment. Education is the solution to the public's ignorance about the scientific foundation for its ideas about race. It is an empirical question whether such education will remedy racism or unjust treatment based on the false racial taxonomy. Although mixed-race categories are no more real than 'pure' ones, their acceptance may help unsettle the prevailling false taxonomy of race.| Item type | Current location | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Journal | Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya | Available |
I apply philosphical analysis to the 'AAA Statement on "Race"' (American Anthropological Assosiation, 1998) and the commentary on its earlier draft published in the Anthropology Newsletter (1997). Racial essentialism is the theory that there are distinct and general human biological traits that determine racial membership and cause the presence of specific racial traits. This theory is false, as is the belief that a taxanomy of human races, or race, exists. But the 1998 'AAA Statement on "Race"' fails to repudiate racial essentialism, contrinutors spoke past one another in confusing population-based measures of human diversity with race. The same confusion clouds contemporary concerns about the relevance of common-sense racial categories to medical diagnosis and treatment. Education is the solution to the public's ignorance about the scientific foundation for its ideas about race. It is an empirical question whether such education will remedy racism or unjust treatment based on the false racial taxonomy. Although mixed-race categories are no more real than 'pure' ones, their acceptance may help unsettle the prevailling false taxonomy of race.