Chapter 1: Theories and practice Flashcards
What did Europeans and Americans do to justify that whites were superior to everybody else?
Social scientists, anthropologists, and scientists engaged in so-called scientific research and came up with theories about race. They used physical differences between people in a racist way to justify their view that whites were superior to everybody else
What is scientific racism
used science and scientific experiments to promote the idea that human beings can be divided into different racial and there was a hierarchy of races in which some racial groups could be graded as superior to others
Because these theories were subjective and based, not on scientific fact but on false arguments
What are pseudo-scientific racial theories
Because these theories were subjective and based, not on scientific fact but on false arguments and principles
Who was Johann Blumenbach
was a German scientist that divided humankind into five groups based on geographical areas where they lived which referred to them as races
Negro- Africa Mongolian- Asia Malay- Southeast Asia American Indian- The Americas Caucasian- Europe
Johann believed that the Caucasian group was the beautiful race and all the others were a degeneration from the originl type.
What were Johanns judgements on race based on
they were based on what he personally found beautiful, rather than on scientific facts and many people accepted his judgement as a fact
Humankind into five groups
Negro- Africa Mongolian- Asia Malay- Southeast Asia American Indian- the Americas Caucasians- Europe
Who was Samuel George Morton
investigated the question of physical differences between human groups. He believed that each group was created separately and with different abilities and he believed that intelligence was linked to brain size. He measured a large number of human skulls from all around the world. He found that the size of Caucasian skulls was bigger than the others and this led him to conclude that Caucasians were intellectually superior to Native Americans and African Americans
How did Mortons scientific finding influence people
that a powerful impact when they became public. His work shaped the thinking of politicians, journalists, and religious leaders of the time. He encouraged people to believe that racial differences existed and that some races were inferior to others. Because people were led to believe that his findings were based on scientific methods, they accepted that they were true
Who was Frederick Douglass
a former slave believed that scientific study was not necessarily neutral and objective
Who was Herbert Spencer
invented the philosophy known as Social Darwinism in which he adapted Charles Darwins recent and groundbreaking research braking research on evolution in the animal kingdom and applied it to human beings
What did Spencers Social Darwinism state
human beings were biologically superior to others and he believed that those who were fit were at the top of society, while the weak and unfit were at the bottom
it was therefore natural, normal, and proper for the strong to thrive at the expense of the weak
Survival of the fittest meaning
natural normal and proper for the strong to thrive at the expense of the weak
Consequences of the false teaching of Social Darwinism
would have terrible effects on international politics, economics, and social development across the globe
what did social Darwinists develop
a hierarchy of human society. white, wealthy, and powerful groups were at the top while the poor, the black people, and the Jews were at the bottom
Who did the ideal of Social Darwinists naturally appeal to
to the rich and powerful people in society, because they felt it explained and justified social inequalities
