Changes for page The Existence of Race

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121	121	Despite the scientific evidence for biological races, the topic is often contentious. One reason is that racial classification was historically misused to justify discrimination. This has led some scholars to reject the race concept entirely or say “race is only a social construct.” It is certainly true that the *folk categories* of race (how societies arbitrarily define racial groups) have some ambiguity and that no single gene distinguishes all members of one race from all of another. However, to leap from those truths to the claim that “race has no biological basis” is an overgeneralization not supported by current science.{{footnote}}Jerry Coyne, "Once again: are races social constructs without scientific or biological meaning?" *Why Evolution Is True*, July 19, 2022. Available at: [[https://whyevolutionistrue.com/2022/07/19/once-again-are-races-social-constructs-without-scientific-or-biological-meaning/#:~:text=This%20in%20turn%20means%20that,discussed%20in%20an%20earlier%20post]]{{/footnote}}{{footnote}}Jerry Coyne, "The meaning of the biological concept of race," *Why Evolution Is True*, July 19, 2022. Available at: [[https://whyevolutionistrue.com/2022/07/19/once-again-are-races-social-constructs-without-scientific-or-biological-meaning/#:~:text=The%20meaning%20of%20the%20biological,evolutionary%20origin%20of%20group%20members]]{{/footnote}}
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123		-Modern researchers advocating a biological understanding of race do not claim that races are *totally separate or discrete*. Instead, they recognize that human variation is clinal and statistical – meaning traits change gradually over geography and that any racial boundaries will be blurred at the edges. But *fuzzy boundaries do not erase the existence of clusters*. As evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne explains, the existence of intermediate cases or the arbitrariness of drawing lines does not negate the reality that genetic ancestry clusters exist and matter.{{footnote}}Jerry Coyne, "The meaning of the biological concept of race," *Why Evolution Is True*, July 19, 2022. Available at: [[https://whyevolutionistrue.com/2022/07/19/once-again-are-races-social-constructs-without-scientific-or-biological-meaning/#:~:text=The%20meaning%20of%20the%20biological,evolutionary%20origin%20of%20group%20members]]{{/footnote}}{{footnote}}Jerry Coyne, "Once again: are races social constructs without scientific or biological meaning?" *Why Evolution Is True*, July 19, 2022. Available at: [[https://whyevolutionistrue.com/2022/07/19/once-again-are-races-social-constructs-without-scientific-or-biological-meaning/#:~:text=,And%20Me%20stay%20in%20business]]{{/footnote}} We can analogize to colors of the rainbow: there is no sharp boundary between, say, orange and yellow, yet orange and yellow are real groupings on the light spectrum. Similarly, human groups transition gradually, yet Africans, Europeans, East Asians, etc., are real genetic clusters at the continental scale.{{footnote}}Jerry Coyne, "Once again: are races social constructs without scientific or biological meaning?" *Why Evolution Is True*, July 19, 2022. Available at: [[https://whyevolutionistrue.com/2022/07/19/once-again-are-races-social-constructs-without-scientific-or-biological-meaning/#:~:text=,And%20Me%20stay%20in%20business]]{{/footnote}}
	123	+Modern researchers advocating a biological understanding of race do not claim that races are *totally separate or discrete*. Instead, they recognize that human variation is clinal and statistical{{footnote}} Shiao, Jiannbin et al. *“The genomic challenge to the social construction of race.”* Sociological Theory 30(2): 67–88 (2012) – (Proposes concept of “clinal classes” acknowledging genetic clusters consistent with race). Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258190374_The_Genomic_Challenge_to_the_Social_Construction_of_Race{{/footnote}} – meaning traits change gradually over geography and that any racial boundaries will be blurred at the edges. But *fuzzy boundaries do not erase the existence of clusters*. As evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne explains, the existence of intermediate cases or the arbitrariness of drawing lines does not negate the reality that genetic ancestry clusters exist and matter.{{footnote}}Jerry Coyne, "The meaning of the biological concept of race," *Why Evolution Is True*, July 19, 2022. Available at: [[https://whyevolutionistrue.com/2022/07/19/once-again-are-races-social-constructs-without-scientific-or-biological-meaning/#:~:text=The%20meaning%20of%20the%20biological,evolutionary%20origin%20of%20group%20members]]{{/footnote}}{{footnote}}Jerry Coyne, "Once again: are races social constructs without scientific or biological meaning?" *Why Evolution Is True*, July 19, 2022. Available at: [[https://whyevolutionistrue.com/2022/07/19/once-again-are-races-social-constructs-without-scientific-or-biological-meaning/#:~:text=,And%20Me%20stay%20in%20business]]{{/footnote}} We can analogize to colors of the rainbow: there is no sharp boundary between, say, orange and yellow, yet orange and yellow are real groupings on the light spectrum. Similarly, human groups transition gradually, yet Africans, Europeans, East Asians, etc., are real genetic clusters at the continental scale.{{footnote}}Jerry Coyne, "Once again: are races social constructs without scientific or biological meaning?" *Why Evolution Is True*, July 19, 2022. Available at: [[https://whyevolutionistrue.com/2022/07/19/once-again-are-races-social-constructs-without-scientific-or-biological-meaning/#:~:text=,And%20Me%20stay%20in%20business]]{{/footnote}}
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125	125	Another common misconception comes from quoting Lewontin’s 85% figure (within-race variation) to say “there are more differences within races than between them.” This argument, as discussed, is fallacious when used to dismiss race.{{footnote}}Anonymous, "Race is biologically non-existent — I’m not making it up," *Tumblr Blog*, 2014. Available at: [[https://someofmybestfriendsarewhite.tumblr.com/post/80846397928/race-is-biologically-non-existent-im-not-making#:~:text=An%20argument%20is%20that%20there,it%20is%20fallacious%20because%20it]]{{/footnote}} Yes, any two random humans share the vast majority (\99.9%) of their DNA, and any two people of the same race are not genetically identical either. But the pattern of that 0.1% difference is highly structured by ancestry. Numerous loci considered together provide enough information to distinguish populations with great reliability.{{footnote}}Jerry Coyne, "Once again: are races social constructs without scientific or biological meaning?" *Why Evolution Is True*, July 19, 2022. Available at: [[https://whyevolutionistrue.com/2022/07/19/once-again-are-races-social-constructs-without-scientific-or-biological-meaning/#:~:text=authors%20note%3A]]{{/footnote}} To put it another way, the *overall genomic similarity* between any two humans is high, yet the *specific ways* in which they differ can tell us their ancestral background. This is why genomic analysis can determine a person’s continent-of-origin, or even more fine-grained ethnicity, from a DNA sample – something impossible if race were solely a social fiction.
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