Article on race by David Livingstone Smith published in 'Philosophy Talks' e-newsletter
On January 27, 2015, Philosophy Talks published an article in its e-newsletter by David Livingstone Smith, Ph.D., professor of philosophy, titled “Could Race be in Your Genes?”
In the article, Smith first tackles the question of whether race is real or merely an illusion. Then, supposing that race is real, he delves into the issue of what makes it real, pondering if it is biologically real (analogous to breeds of dogs) or if it only exists as a social convention.
“After all, money is real, and so are days of the week, but their ostensible reality depends on our social conventions,” he writes. “Perhaps racial categories like ‘black’ and ‘white’ are more like Mondays and Tuesdays than they are like beagle and corgis.”
The entire article is available by joining Philosophy Talks.