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Knowledge and Reality - Coggle Diagram

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        Heng (2011a, 2011b, 2018) Argues that a race concept existed in the 13th century and applied to Jews. Has a 'working hypothesis' about race as being a 'categorization of peoples based on selectively essentialized traits to allow for a hierarchy to be constructed'. - Heng mentions essentialized traits but does not appeal to what they actually are, denies that a single concept of race is applicable across the modern day/ history, that there are 'multiple modernities'. Argues that the English 13th century concept is truly racial instead of ethnic or religious, even though it lacks biological references associated with the modern race.
        
        Responded to by >
        
        Hochman (2019) Rejects Heng's conclusion that the categorization of Jews in 13th century England was a real race concept. Hochman separates the question 'is race modern' into 6 questions:
        
        Is the concept of race modern? 2. Is the a modern concept of race distinct from earlier race concepts? 3. Are "Races themselves" modern? 4. Are racialized groups modern? 5. Are the means and methods of racialization modern? 6. Are the meanings attached to racialized traits modern?
        
        Hochman (2019) argues that most race theorists conflate the first three questions and leave the last three unanswered. Hochman says that we should focus on 'racialized groups' not 'race', Answers question one and two by saying that the concept of race is not modern but medieval, and the modern concept of race is distinct from late medieval concept.
        
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  - - - Do Races Exist?
        
        Metaphysical Positions Views on the ontological status of 'race'. Mallon 2004, 2006, 2007
        
        Racial Skepticism
        
        Racial Constructivism Thew view that race does not reflect a real biological class, but that 'race' has come into existence as a meaningful concept due to the persistence of human culture and decisions, in such a way that has inherited the racial ascriptions given from the old conception of race. I.e the superficial properties that race originally purported to explain have become prototypically linked with the social concept itself .
        
        Races aren't biologically real but socially real
        
        Cultural Constructivism Jeffers (2013) Argues that race experience influence culture in a meaningful way. 'There's more to blackness than marginalization ... there's also joy in blackness'
        
        Political Constructivism Race defined by hierarchical power structures, if these hierarchies disappear so does race. Denies the possibility of racial equality.
        
        Denied by
        
        The Relevant case of Elizabeth Hoover and the lack of Experts (2024) I suggest that the concept of race, as it stands, is not understood or definable in a way to allow for experts to accurately define the term, or classify which race groups exist. As a consequence, we are unable to defer to experts in common 'race talk', as entailed by Putnam's linguistic division of labor. Constructivist positions on race describe that the concept has become a social concept, contingently linked with the abandoned biological concept yet has a real ontological status nonetheless. This position is wanting, then, of experts. Experts we thus far have been unable to identify. One may be tempted to argue that individuals, with the lived experience of being treated as a member of a given race, are the best candidates.
        
        The 'individual expert' idea does not hold water, as we will see. Elizabeth Hoover, a former professor of anthropology at Berkley, is the subject of Jay Kang's 2024 article Identity Crisis. The article describes how Hoover lived and passed as a native for almost her entire life. Upon finding out that she did not possess native heritage, she was met with significant backlash. Kang writes how the native tribal membership in the US has strict requirements, often in the form of 'blood percentages' and official documents proving lineage from a known member. Further, Kang writes how these requirements are implemented in fear of 'imposters' who 'adopt an identity that is not theirs'. As shown by the case of Elizabeth Hoover, the operative use of the term, is not 'prototypically' linked to the defunct biological concept, rather it is undeniable that upon it the modern concept rests necessarily.
        
        Therefore we cannot find an expert that has the a familiarity with what constructivists argue matters, being the social reality. They become are unable to conclude that the modern concept of race is not a social concept but remains a biological one - perhaps with changes to the implications to culture, behavior and political aspects that the biological concept purports to explain.
        
        Racial Population Naturalism If we abandon race because the categories are not discrete then we must also abandon species, we are hesitant for the latter. It is possible for a biological category that would warrant the term 'race' for this reason, but it would not resemble the original biological race concept.
        
        Normative Positions How we ought to move forward on 'race' / what should we change
        
        Racial Elimativism - Move away from Race as a concept
        
        Racial Conservationism - Race should persist in use
        
        Racial Naturalism : Old, biological conception of race as a type of biological class or 'essence'
        Thew view that the 'biological essences' are
        (1) Heritable
        (2) Shared by all and only the members of the race
        (3) Explain behavior, Character and cultural predispositions of individuals and race groups
        
        Rebuttal Scientific consensus on the Racial Naturalism being false. Race and the traits associated do not correlate with geography, phenotypes, genotypes or genealogy so has no basis and thus there cannot be a racial taxonomy.
        
        Objection Mallon (2006) If the phenotypic features associated with race were of genuine biological inheritance, then the level of inbreeding required would only permit the Amish and Irish Protestants, neither of which are considered races
        
        Racial Realism Glasgow (2019) Neither biological race nor social race exists in a meaningful way. Race can persist across all social practices, therefore is not socially real.