The Evolution of Racism
Author | : Pat Shipman |
Publisher | : Harvard University Press |
Total Pages | : 324 |
Release | : 2002 |
ISBN-10 | : 0674008626 |
ISBN-13 | : 9780674008625 |
Rating | : 4/5 (26 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: In an intellectually engaging narrative that mixes science and history, theories and personalities, Pat Shipman asks the question: Can we have legitimate scientific investigations of differences among humans without sounding racist? Through the original controversy over evolutionary theory in Darwin's time; the corruption of evolutionary theory into eugenics; the conflict between laboratory research in genetics and fieldwork in physical anthropology and biology; and the continuing controversies over the heritability of intelligence, criminal behavior, and other traits, the book explains both prewar eugenics and postwar taboos on letting the insights of genetics and evolution into the study of humanity.