Race vs Biological Category, Research Paper Example

Introduction

This paper explores the meaning of the term ‘race’ within the context of modern society. This being through the lens of biological evolution and differentiation. A historic assumption being that race is based upon biology but in reality this is a myth as it comprises more of an idea that is prescribed to biology.. People have classified others by placing them into categories, such distinctions based upon visual representations of skin, color, eye shapes, body shapes etc. Further it is considered that external differences that are routed in biology lead to more complex internal differences i.e. athleticism, intellect etc. Biologists however have not discovered any individual genetic markers that define race.

Race the Power of Illusion

A video produced on You Tube[1] presented a discussion on the different characteristics attributed to both race and biology. The video focused upon how different people view one another and place people in varying categories by identification of attributes like skin color, the shape their eyes or physical shapes. The point was made that in historic terms society looked at race as being a biological factor. Latest science however disputes this and states that race is more that just biological attributes of evolution and differentiation but more comprises an ideology of sociological considerations.

The point was made that there are no specific genetic markers defining race but more external and internal differences that lead towards an improved understanding of racial attributes. Hence the concept of race being the power of illusion. We are much more fully engaged as a global community of different peoples and that differentiation is more closely linked with sociological aspects of language, culture and religion.

Edward O. Wilson was one of the main sociobiology’s theorists from Harvard University. He spoke widely on the links between race and sociology. He remained concerned about the political dimensions of his speeches being taken out of context and associated with the eugenics movement. Wilson put forward the scientific argument that race did not really matter but what was important is the DNA that is handed down from one generation to the next. He compared humans to that of ants and stated if you wish to understand the behavior of a single ant then you need to understand the colony. This is equally true of humans. (Ramon, G. 2012)

Wilson was concerned that in discussion of the sociological implications of race you invite racist comments. He cited the work of Phillipe Rushton in 1995 where he was quoted as saying that black people have small brains, large genitals and had a predisposition towards rape. The statement in itself was not meant to be controversial but was widely rebuked. Wilson said that humans are a biological species but are physically and mentally diverse in the way they conduct their social behavior. We are not driven to express ourselves in concepts of biological uniformity in order to affirm concepts of human freedom and dignity.

Wilson touched on the religious implications saying that mankind was a product of genes and the environment and did not attribute his existence to god. In this sense Wilson showed his commitment to that of scientific materialism. He made the point that humanity and race cannot be simply attributed to biological development alone. Hence he moves away from the single paradigm of biology to that of the more complex structure of sociobiology. Wilson considers that this scientific construct is the key to understanding human nature and how this transgresses across all races. (Ramon, G. 2012)

The Video put forward the premise that race is merely an idea that is associated with biology but Wilson gives this more meaning in his concept of sociobiology or the integration between that of sociology and biology in the determination of race and understanding the concepts of human nature.

The concept of globalization has started to erode the concept of race and potentially overtime through inter breeding between the races it is likely that humans will evolve into a mixed race species; essentially marrying the characteristics and traits from all peoples that dwell on this planet. The concept of purity of race and breeding will become a myth that is not capable of being sustained over time. From the biological perspective this will pose some interesting challenges in the DNA mix as certain gene attributes will be strengthened and other are like to be diminished. It is unlikely that any biologists fully understand what these changes are likely to produce over time. From the agricultural world of genetics we have seen hybridization to be a positive thing and often strengthen strains of plants to make them more resistance to disease and more tolerable of different climatic conditions. Such analogies have yet to unfold from the perspective of human genetic development.

The concept of genetic engineering in medical practice has been challenged on both ethical and moral grounds. Those dealing with genetic programming of both humans and animals are interfering with the process of nature. The moral issues are associated with the fact that we are now entering a world where we can change our human composition, our environment and determine what future generations will look like. The manipulation of human genomes poses serious ethical and moral challenges.

Race and Biology

Race is considered more of a sociologic concept than that of a biological one. It drawn upon the distinction not only of physical characteristics but also those of language, religion and nationality. In recent years this has influenced how scientists view this concept. Biological anthropologists have described the variations that exist within the human species. It was Charles Darwin that put forward the ideal of ‘natural selection’ and that hereditary traits passed down through the genes were a result of the body adapting to environmental conditions. An example of this being fair haired, wide eyed people of Scandinavia who responded in evolution to the limited amount of light in the dark northern regions. Where eyes became narrower in the equatorial regions where there is increased exposure to sunlight. The body adapted to its natural environment.

It was James King in his book ‘The Biology of Race’ (King, J. 1981). That defined the physical characteristics of an individual that are the inborn qualities from which we obtain both genotypes (those genes passed on from the parents to offspring) and Phenotypes (the consequences resulting from those genes). This often determines a person’s strength or vulnerability to different types of diseases. Skin color has been a determining factor in regard to exposure to sunlight (UV radiation). People with dark skin are less prone to damage from exposure to sunlight whereas fair skinned people are more likely to gain sunburn and are more prone to consequences of over exposure like skin cancer.

Skin pigmentation is a biological factor in terms of it is based upon the amount of melanin present in the skin. The darker the skin tends to embody more melanin. All races have this characteristic in the skin but black people have this in abundance and this supports Darwin’s natural selection theory of evolution in terms of people in the tropics and equatorial regions being dark skinned in the acquisition of this protection. The natural environment also restricted the movement of races and impacted their evolutionary development. In New Zealand they described two types of areas ‘good lands’ and ‘bad lands’. The Bad Lands were where people and animals were often sick. This related to the fact that there was a minimum amount of cobalt deposits in the soil of the Bad Lands. The reverse applied where there was a higher deposit of cobalt.

Conclusions

Clarence Gravlee conducted an interesting research paper that looked at the inequalities between race and how this impacted biological development and vulnerability to diseases. (Gravlee, C.C. 2009). It was previously accepted that that racial classification created the degree of vulnerability to certain important disease types like that of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardio Vascular disease etc. It is these vulnerabilities that give rise to the perception of genetic differences but to date there is no real proof of genetic markers that differentiate between races. As such this research examined the consequences of social inequalities between regions and health disparities that arose through factors of a lack of proper nourishment, inadequate exposure to advanced medical facilities and how aspects of racism have marginalized certain ethnic groups. This was put into context by placing these into specific groupings:

• Socioeconomic status of racial groups;
• The health characteristics of these groups;
• The degree of psychological stress placed upon these groups;
• Identification of social and genetic factors of health racial inequality;

The argument put forward is that of ‘race is not biology’. It can be argued from an epidemiologic viewpoint that this assumption is incorrect and that there are identifiable differences between different racial groups that result in different biological outcomes. The change in emphasis is really from the viewpoint of how modern science views biology.

Works Cited

Gravlee, C. (2009). How race becomes biology: Embodiment of Social Inequality. American Journal of Physical Anthropology Vol 139(47), 47-57.

King, J. (1981). The Biology of Race. Berkeley CA: University of California Press.

Ramon, G. (2012, 3 30). Race: Social Concept, Biological Idea . Retrieved from http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/biology/b103/f00/web2/ramon2.html

[1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9ymckp5myl