Biological in the most obvious sense i.e. dark/white skin, differently shaped facial features [e.g. black people tend to have larger noses and lips asians tend to have a far flatter one]
Social in that humans seem to have a burning desire to catagorise anything and everything.
Race, as a social construct, is a group of people who share similar and distinct physical characteristics, as well as shared cultural practices and affectations.
But you can't change your race like you can with other social constructs, such as class.
From wiki: Race, as a social construct, is a group of people who share similar and distinct physical characteristics, as well as shared cultural practices and affectations.
That's just semantics, if that is the 'true meaning' of the word 'race' or where it originated from then fair enough, but it's undeniable that the various 'races' of the world do have genetic differences, however slight, otherwise there would be no visible physical difference aside from environmental factors such as access to nutrition or whatever.
If race can refer to either a social or biological difference then I don't understand what the point of the OP's question is, and he should define more clearly what he means by 'race', because I took it to mean the scientific differences between two people of different races. Obviously different races are more likely to have varied cultural practices, as alluded to above, but that is due to the geographic separation of various societies and isn't a direct result of them simply having a different skin colour.
It all depends on what you classify as race. It only genes were considered, we shoudnt be using the word racist because no one really cares what colour someones skin is but what culture they are from.
It all depends on what you classify as race. It only genes were considered, we shoudnt be using the word racist because no one really cares what colour someones skin is but what culture they are from.
The internet also says that unicorns and aliens might exist and that all elites are lizard people, are you going to take that as indisputable fact aswell? Humans have assigned differing biological characteristics as 'race' but the fact of the matter remains that if this biological difference didn't exist in the first place then there would be no concept of race and racism.
Oh really? Then why do people insult the colours of other people's skins if it was all about culture
Obviously gene expression is a biological process and therefore someone's characteristics expressed via genes is also biological.
However the way we categorise those genetic characteristics into groups or "races" is something done by humans. When does someone's genetic makeup become different enough to be classed as an entirely different race?Sounds very arbitrary tbh, so I'd say social construct.
Race is NOT biological. It is a social construct. There is no gene or cluster of genes common to all blacks or all whites. Were race “real” in the genetic sense, racial classifications for individuals would remain constant across boundaries.
Of course there is. If two black people have a child, it's black. If two white people have a child, it's white. This is because they have different genes.
Obviously gene expression is a biological process and therefore someone's characteristics expressed via genes is also biological.
However the way we categorise those genetic characteristics into groups or "races" is something done by humans. When does someone's genetic makeup become different enough to be classed as an entirely different race?Sounds very arbitrary tbh, so I'd say social construct.
In animals it is called "subspecies", like an Indian vs African elephant.
In animals it is called "subspecies", like an Indian vs African elephant.
Subspecies are still a distinction humans have made though, I'm not saying the concept of race or subspecies is invalid, just saying it's a human construct.
Subspecies are still a distinction humans have made though, I'm not saying the concept of race or subspecies is invalid, just saying it's a human construct.
Calling a teapot a teapot is a human construct too.
Science is isn't it? The intellectual process itself. Like mathematical equations, newtons laws were all made by us to help describe the physical world.