Re: What Are the Race Deniers Denying?

Toby Cockcroft (hegeman@wchat.on.ca)
Mon, 23 Sep 1996 21:58:13 -0400

In article <52481j$j37@clarknet.clark.net>, frank@clark.net () wrote:

>I've been hearing long enough statements denying the existence of race in
>humans, but I've never been clear just what it is that is being denied.
>Would someone please define the word and show examples of species in which
>a) there are clearly demarcated races, b) other species where there is
>only blurring, and c) where humans fall along the continuum? I've asked
>this question before and got no satisfactory answer. But these Newsgroups
>have a high turnover, so some race denier may be here that can answer my
>question. I am NOT interested in learning that race is a sociological
>concept, one that has no *necessary* connection to the biological concept.
>I am quite well aware of this. What I want to know about is the biology,
>since I don't think any race deniers deny that races exists in the
>sociological sense.

Well Frank

There is no biological definition of 'race'. The only time the term
'race' is used is in reference to humans. The notion and definition of
race is solely socio-cultural and has absolutely no biological validity or
reference.

Toby

Toby Cockcroft MA Anthropology
Dept. of Anthropology
University of Western Ontario