Regardless of what our senses seem to tell us, race is not a biologically coherent story about human variation… |
“It is important to begin by talking about what race is not. Regardless of what our senses seem to tell us, race is not a biologically coherent story about human variation simply because the races we recognize and name are not biologically coherent populations. There is as much genetic variation within racial groups as there is between them. Now this does not mean that race is not real psychologically or sociologically. It is obvious that race is real in both these senses. People believe in races and they use this belief to organize important dimensions of social, economic, and political life. But this does not make race a real thing biologically.” —Lawrence A. Hirschfeld, University of Michigan Professor of Anthropology and Psychology
John Woodford, “A New Look at an Old Notion: Lawrence Hirchfeld Discusses Race in Society,” Michigan Today, (June 1996). http://www.ns.umich.edu/MT/96/Jun96/mta1j96.html.
Tags: John Woodford, Lawrence A. Hirschfeld, Lawrence Hirschfeld, Michigan Today