tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778550691699707259.post4406939485686072875..comments2011-05-03T00:47:43.517-05:00Comments on Philosophy of Race @ Rhodes: Race is a social, cultural and political tool.Doctor Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13189506916480012553noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778550691699707259.post-65888559611367611782011-01-25T01:26:50.974-06:002011-01-25T01:26:50.974-06:00It is hard to keep in mind that the knowledge that...It is hard to keep in mind that the knowledge that Kant had regarding biology was obsolete considering the type of claims that he was making. Even when I take into consideration that Kant was writing with limited knowledge, it is hard to ignore the fact that he often strays away from his scientific descriptions and begins to generalize and make baseless assumptions about certain groups of people.Jarrett Tatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02514291889147414888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778550691699707259.post-9926996539362333092011-01-25T00:48:31.021-06:002011-01-25T00:48:31.021-06:00Humans are terrified of the unknown. Regardless of...Humans are terrified of the unknown. Regardless of our religious or scientific justifications, we go to mental extremes to quell our fears, to predict the future, and, ultimately, to decode the nuances of everyday life. Despite the rudimentary nature of Kant's dissection of race, we must remember that every form of classification has a beginning, and generally those beginning tactics are significantly less sophisticated than we would use today. Also, when looking back on something such as race analysis we have to remember that racism itself was not developed. I think it's interesting that you call Kant's approach "logical" because, if looked at through a modern lens, this is an incredibly irrational and racist description of the various races. Of course Africans are not guided solely by "impulse," but this is what Kant believes to be true and we must respect his stab at a legitimate classification. The early philosopher, Lucretious, attempts to define now understood concepts such as atoms and storms. To us, his conclusions might seem ridiculous, but we recognize the importance of his hypotheses; his contributions to science paved the way to more valid and respected explanations for these phenomenons. It could be said that Kant's initial observations were made with the intent to exploit these newly identified races, but I truly believe that philosophers did not have enough "practice" to make a legitimately informed analysis of the races. Every institution needs a beginning, and although this is not the most ideal, it is a beginning.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778550691699707259.post-48837656005104131982011-01-24T11:10:16.265-06:002011-01-24T11:10:16.265-06:00I completely agree with the idea that applying soc...I completely agree with the idea that applying social characteristics to races is ridiculous, but we must also consider what biological tools Linnaeus and Kant had at their disposal when judging their arguments. There was essentially little communication worldwide during their times, and I daresay Kant and Linnaeus had much interaction with foreign races other than second-hand accounts. So when one says that Kant's postulation as to why arctic people are shorter in general than many other populations is laughable, one must keep in mind that biology as we know it today did not exist. Kant was taking the knowledge-base of the times and trying to apply it to observations. This is no different than what we do today, but luckily our knowledge-base stretches much further than theirs. Additionally, the fact that pygmies exist in warmer climates does not necessarily invalidate the idea that arctic people are shorter because of their climate. It only shows that other climates may lead to a similar phenotype under Kant's view of biology.Ferrell Varnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10620439544211471834noreply@blogger.com