Why Are Humans Classified as "Races"?

Question

It seems to me that we should be classified as Species and Sub-Species instead of "Races". I think there would be less Social ills if Humans were identified separately as classified as Sub-Species instead of races and less Social problems and friction would take place.

There is obvious physical differences in Homo Sapiens, and just as I know Whites are referred as Caucazoids, and such,......it seems that so called racial problems or "racism" would be better understood if viewed from a Scientific view-point instead of a Social or Cultural view. Racism seems to be a natural occurring predisposition that takes place under the guise of Sub-Species conflicts and competition. Because we are social creatures, I still think nature precludes racism

Just as Red Ants and Black Ants naturally are enemies, it obviously isn't because they are acting as thinking animals with hate of color, but, there are specific differences between them, and their warring between each other is understood.

Answer 1

There are no races today. That's not to say there have never been different human races before (there have) nor do I say there may never be races again (but I do doubt it).

As you say, race is better understood from a scientific point of view rather than a cultural/social one. However, as many have observed before me, if science was capable of showing there are different races to do, it would do so. But there isn't so it can't. Take a look at the UN statement on races, signed by over 120 world leading scientists (geneticists, anthropologists, biologists and the like).

Answer 2

The social structure that has emanated over centuries has contrued this word which is primarily meant only for homo sapiens. Species is for all other forms of human life ( if incorporated today we may feel like a TOAD).

Answer 3

We're all the same race, but we are different looking because of our physical surroundings.  Our bodies have adapted to heat, cold, air density, available food sources, and many other factors over long periods of time.

Answer 4

Anyone who believes in Darwinian evolution should agree with you.

Answer 5

But we are not sub-species. It's that simple. We can all interbreed with no trouble whatsoever. Race is in fact a misleading term, there is only one race.  There are ethnicities.

Racism is not sub-species competition. If all tribes all over the world had been the same color, we still would have found a way to distinguish them because they are "other". Perhaps by their speech, clothes, or something.  Lions fight with other prides, it's not sub-species competition, it's resouce competition.

Answer 6

With the completion of the Human Genome project, we find that all humans are 99.9% identical (1).

Therefore "race" and "racism" is a cultural and/or societal phenomenon. The American Anthropological Association stated on May 17, 1998, that it (A.A.A) would NOT use "race as a biological determining factor" (2).

Answer 7

Because people by nature categorize.  People noticed well before they knew anything about genetics and evolution that people had different colored skin.  The skin color being the most noticable part of a person besides maybe gender it was naturally used as a category title.  Just as blondes and redheads are also grouped together, it was a convenient way of distinguishing people.  

  Maybe race should not longer be recognized and should be replaced with a more scientific method, but it make sense why such a recognition was there in the first place

Answer 8

In my view, the concept of race  is primarily a social construct with little or no genetic basis. And anyway classifying someone as belonging to a particular race only takes into account the physical appearance of the person. If I look white, I'll be deemed to belong to the caucasian race - this totally disregards the fact that I may have a black or asian grandmother.

However, will classifying humans as species or sub-species change anything? And since all humans belong to the same species (homo sapiens) who would be classified as the sub - species? ...and what would you call the sub-species? I don't think that changing terms will change anything. Calling us species or sub-species won't change the fact that although we are all humans, we are different from each other and therefore discrimination will always exist. If we were all the same colour, we would base our discrimination on something else. Even people of the same "race" discriminate against each other on the basis of height, gender, weight, age, appearance  ( eg -i just don't like his face!).

Answer 9

In biology the concept of species is one that has reproductive isolation. As a botanist whiile this is easily understood when the rule is always broken  because interspecific hybridization always occurs both in the wild or engineered in the laboratory, it is not so easily done among animals, especially insects, arachnids, even higher animals like birds and mammals. There are elaborate courtship rituals and preliminary behaviour before copulation actually occurs.  Now regarding the question of difference between race and species we humans cutting across caucasoid, negroid, mongoloid, asiatic or any other sub classification, can all inter marry and beget children. So reproductive isolation is not there. We have the basic chromosome number of 2n=46, and the slightest change in any of it becomes disastrous. But there is no difference in this across all the races. Infra specific categories are races and that is what we are. In one of the non fiction books, the writer had predicted that perhaps after 50 - 100 years, humans all over the world would have married and only one race would exist....but till then differences are bound to exist.