Race: The Reality of Human Differences / Edition 1

by Vincent Sarich, Frank Miele

Overview

The conventional wisdom in contemporary social science claims that human races are not biologically valid categories. Many argue the very words 'race' and 'racial differences'should be abolished because they support racism. In Race, Vincent Sarich and Frank Miele challenge both these tenets. First, they cite the historical record, the art and literature of other civilizations and cultures, morphological studies, cognitive psychology, and the latest research in medical genetics, forensics, and the human genome to demonstrate that racial differences are not trivial, but very real. They conclude with the paradox that, while, scientific honesty requires forthright recognition of racial differences, public policy should not recognize racial-group membership. The evidence and issues raised in this book will be of critical interest to students of race in behavioral and political science, medicine, and law.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813343228
Publisher:	Westview Press
Publication date:	08/19/2005
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Sarich, Vincent | Miele, Frank

Table of Contents

Preface — Opening Statement — Race and the Law — Race and History — Anthropology as the Science of Race — Resolving the Primate Tree — Homo sapiens and Its Races — The Two “Miracles” That Made Humankind — Race and Physical Differences — Race and Behavior — Learning to Live with Race

Editorial Reviews

Sarich, a Berkeley emeritus anthropologist, and Miele, an editor of Skeptic magazine, cannot resist calling the current view that "race does not exist" a "PC dogma." They make cogent, if not convincing, arguments of their case in three areas. Race as a concept, they argue, considerably antedates colonial Europe, presenting such examples as an "Egyptian tomb with four races" (as one caption calls a tomb painting) that may point up "awareness" of difference, but whether that awareness correlates to concepts of "race" as currently defined remains unproven. Several chapters are heavy going on DNA-based research into the origin and differentiation of Homo sapiens, here interpreted as branching off from the other hominids recently enough to make differences among people very minor but, in the authors' view, significant. They move from the Human Genome Project into their final section, in which differences in intelligence are said to correlate to a concept of race (but are not said to be a justification for discrimination). This last argument is predicated on what will seem to many readers an excessive faith in IQ tests. Nevertheless, the book lacks vitriol, other than that needed to fuel the skeptic's attempt to debunk. (Feb.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Sarich (anthropology, emeritus, Berkeley) has long been a controversialist, and his new book, coauthored with Miele (senior editor, Skeptic magazine), will further this reputation. Sarich and Miele argue that, contrary to the orthodox view, race is indeed a valid scientific concept and that the various modern "races" (how many there are is left unclear) do differ in many significant ways (including athletically and intellectually). Often, their argument appeals to "common sense" and what they feel are obvious physiological differences. The core of their argument, however, is biological and pays particular attention to evidence from recent research into mitochondrial DNA. The authors claim that there are significant racial differences at the genetic level, though they are not able to connect these differences to real or alleged differences among the races. What damages their argument most and makes them particularly vulnerable to claims of racism are their rather gratuitous arguments based on the relative cranial capacities (and size of genitalia) of the races. The authors offer a concluding chapter on the policy implications of their theories in which they argue that society should strive to achieve a true meritocracy, which they say is best done by a public policy that generally-they do make a few exceptions-does not distinguish among the races. Likely to provoke the same audience as Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray's The Bell Curve, this book will be of similar interest to public and academic libraries.-David A. Timko, U.S. Census Bureau Lib., Washington, DC Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal