The Biological Case Against Race

American Outlook, publication of the Hudson Institute ^ | Spring 2002 | Joseph L. Graves Jr.

[Heartlander]

Ah yes, the prophet Darwin.
Don’t drink the primordial soup!

[ThePythonicCow]

No - there is not a single marker distinguishing races, to the best of my expectations.

But that's not where this article is going. There are statistical differences between groups, even though the groups are not well defined at the boundaries, and though there is no single clear way to distinguish them.

Indeed, the groups almost totally overlap. Almost any white man can find some black man he can out jump, and almost any black man can find a white man who can outjump him. The biggest strongest NBA center is a black man, and since George Mikan usually has been. But there are usually both black and white centers succeeding in the NBA at any given time.

These differences are biological and exist, with 99% overlap and no clear boundary. This article doesn't dispute that, though it does its darndest to cloud that fact. Why? What agenda is it persuing? Not one I subscribe to, of that I'm confident.

[cornelis]

It's communism, socialism, liberalism

No one ever argued that the Soviet domination of Chess from 1950 - 90, was evidence of their genetically superior intellectual capacity. Soviet grandmasters agreed that it was their state funded training program that produced their success. link

[Poohbah]

I believe God created the Universe over billions of years to serve His ends.

[GovernmentShrinker]

I'm sure both cultural and genetic factors are involved. But culture is to some extent produced by the innate characteristics of the people in question.

[Heartlander]

Please accept my humble apology.

It was kinda’ funny though…

[Poohbah]

No problem.

God created evolution. By saying those three words, I manage to tick off BOTH extremes of the crevo debate.

[ThePythonicCow]

God created evolution

Yup - where "evolution" is one manifestation of our current limited understanding of what's really going on.

[ConsistentLibertarian]

The question isn't simply how great the differences are statistically between lightly and darkly complected people (ie do they meet some arbitrary threshold). Folk theories of race consist of claims like the following: "He's fast because he's black." That's a causal claim. What's the most charitable way to construe it? Surely the claim isn't that skin pigmentation itself makes one run faster, otherwise sprinters would train in tanning salons. The most charitable interpretation is that there's some genetic marker for skin pigmentation that is also responsible for one being fleet footed. Ie, the skin pigmentation the running ability have a common genetic cause. A genetic vindication of a folk theory of race would find those common causes. But when we look, they're not there.

[Poohbah]

Part of what I believe is that God works in a "hands-off" mode when it comes to the physical world--because to blatantly stick His fingerprints all over would neutralize our free will to believe and follow Him or not.

[secretagent]

Are there any IQ tests that do not require some sort of basic cultural awareness on the test-taker's part?

No, but some tests have less cultural bias than others. The racial differences increase the more one decreases cultural bias, according to Murray.

[PatrickHenry]

Placemarker.

[GovernmentShrinker]

If race cannot be biologically defined, it's only because biologists refuse to define it. There are, in fact, huge differences between races. One of the more interesting ones is that Japanese people rarely have the underarm glands which produce the strong odor which we Caucasians obsess over masking. This odor almost certainly contains pheromones, which influence mating and other behavior. The presence of these glands in Japanese is so rare that it used to be grounds for exemption from military service in Japan -- it was considered a medical disorder.

[mikegi]

And vice-versa. If a certain trait is valued by the culture, there's a better chance that it will be selected. For example, what will be the long term effects of the Holocaust on Jews? It has already resulted in the reestablishment of the state of Israel and an aggressive self-defense mindset. Will this mindset now be selected genetically because it is seen as important?

[ThePythonicCow]

A genetic vindication of a folk theory of race would find those common causes.

True, such vindication is not there.

But it is true that West Africans dominate the 100 meter, and East Africans the long distances. To quote from the link below:

No white sprinter can be found on the list of 100-meter sprinters; the best time by a white, 10 seconds, ranks more than 200th on the all-time list. Dozens of blacks, every one with a West African ancestry, have cracked the 10-second barrier, but no sprinter of any other race.

For a much more careful and detailed explanation of this, see TABOO: Why Black Athletes Dominate Sports And Why We're Afraid to Talk About It .

You are misconstruing what I'm saying, turning it into a paper tiger, and then demolishing it.

[ThePythonicCow]

grounds for exemption from military service in Japan

Perhaps Al Gore wishes he was Japanese -- he wouldn't have had to worry about military service.

[ConsistentLibertarian]

Giving one better evidence for the truth somehow defeats a persons free will? In that case, come. Let me enslave you.

[cornelis]

Do Races Differ in Athletic Ability?

Do races differ in athletic ability? Do Blacks really dominate sports? The answer to these questions is no. Unfortunately, this response flies in the face of commonly accepted logic. Most Americans believe that races are real and correspond to their common sense observations.

[ThePythonicCow]

His fingerprints all over would neutralize our free will to believe and follow Him or not.

Even our free will is part of His scheme, the grand order.