On Sat, 23 Jun 2001, John D. Giorgis wrote:
> >> At 01:06 AM 6/22/01 -0700 Christopher Gwyn wrote:
> > Indeed. However 'race' is a concept that only makes sense in the
> >context of racism and has no scientific validity.
>
> I am sure that the hundred of scientists studying such matters as the
> connection of race to sickle-cell anemia and heart disease will appreciate
> that Christopher Gwyn has declared the concept of "race" to have no
> scientific validity.
>
I think that the concept of "race" being declared invalid is not the
observation that certain traits can be more common in given populations.
If that were the case, then we would have to somehow argue that the Irish
are not, in fact, more likely to be redheaded than the Chinese, which is
absurd.
The concept of race that is being dismissed, rather, is the classical one:
that a person can look at another person's skin color, etc., and by
such markers alone make an accurate evaluation of his or her capacity for
moral behavior and for participation in civilized society.
I'd like to see the term race discarded ultimately because I think it's
pretty much impossible to use it in the first, inoffensive sense without
also keeping alive the second and evil connotation of the word.
Marvin Long
Austin, Texas
