In anthropology, why is 'race' not biologically meaningful categories of classification?

Question

This is a question I need to answer for my anthropology class. Please help!

Answer 1

Here, you can read the official position from the American Anthropological Association:

http://www.aaanet.org/stmts/racepp.htm

Answer 2

Race is biologically meaningful. It has recently become PC among some to deny the obvious. If two black people have a child, for example, I would bet that the child will be black and not white, and further that the child will be much more genetically inclined to have inherited diseases that primarily affect black people than diseases that primarily affect white people.

Answer 3

If two humans can have viable offspring that are capable of reproduction in their turn, then they are the same species and skin coloration is superfluous.

Answer 4

Race was invented by mankind to classify humans. There is no biological basis for it. Biologically, there is only one race -- the human race.

Answer 5

Because, for example, the French and British, both are a mixture of Celtic and Germanic elements.  Actually in truth, they are a mixture of Celtic, Germanic, and Latin, because of all the local women Roman soldiers took for wives.  That makes French and British, therefore, genetically identical racially speaking but their cultures are as night and day.

Now, the idea, that race does not determine certain personality traits and temperament, is stupid.  The reason that is is because, think for a second; you have a hothead man marrying a hothead woman, and the kids will all be hotheads.  If you can think of different races as "families" of people, different races therefore have different personalities inherent to genetics, although of course, there are always exceptions the rule.

Now, in anthropology, race is not a biologically meaningful category of classification, because the word itself "anthropology" means "the study of mankind."  To classify a given race as separate from another is therefore contradictory to the definition of the word, and that is why therefore it is not meaningful.  Now, recent genetic studies have shown that different races have different genetic patterns, however, so, you may want to point to your professor studies conducted by Dr. Spencer Wells, head of the Genographic project.

He has collected DNA samples from places like TANJORE KALLAR, AND, TAMIL NADU, and has conducted extensive studies in Haplogroup R1b, among others.

Anthropology deals with cultures, and the people who created them, but it operates under the assumption, that everyone is the same, when we're not.  In terms of intellectual potential, sure, in terms of personality and temperament however, we are not.  However you may not want to use the genetic part of this answer in your class, not if you want to get a good grade.  You want to use the "definition of the word anthropology" answer, because that is likely what your professor is asking, not your opinion on the science itself.

Remember, they are the professor, you are the student, so keep quiet, answer the way they want you to answer but don't think for yourself, and about once or twice a month stroke their ego to get a good grade.  At least that is what I have seen straight A students do.

peace out.

Answer 6

It's essentially the same reason that library books are not classified by the colors of their covers. The race system involves a set of traits that do not co-vary reliably or predictably. The system was set up well over a hundred years ago, and has not stood up to scientific scrutiny. You can cram all the information in the world into the race paradigm until it looks satisfying, but that's not terribly scientific.