The Intellectual Origins of Race
How Philosophy, Science, Religion and Exploration got Races Classified
In order to resolve racial conflict today, we must understand when, why, and where the idea of race came from.
The concept of race in today’s society is loaded with assumptions, political agendas, and unspoken emotional associations. According to philosophers, Bernasconi and Lott, it was first used in its modern form in 1685, by Francios Bernier. However, in the 17th century when the term was first emerging in intellectual discourse, ‘race’ had a variety of meanings; indeed, no one was committed to a specific definition. It was not until 1775 in his essay, Of the Different Races of Men, that Immanuel Kant gave the term its first explicit definition
But why was ‘race’ an issue at this time? Not unlike the multiplicity of connotations the idea has in today’s society, ‘race’ evolved from a complex interaction of philosophical, scientific, religious and political frameworks.
Firstly, a scientific backdrop was no coincidence. Also emerging at this time in Western Europe was the science of taxonomy. People were obsessed with being able to list, order, and classify everything in their observable world. With the paradigm shift from medieval times to the age of Enlightenment, European intellectuals of the 18th century were attempting to systematically explain their surroundings…and other people’s too!
In this era of exploration and conquest Europeans were encountering, either directly or indirectly, a host of never before seen wildlife. Travel logs of intrepid explorers became popular readings of the time. They brought back harrowing tales, elaborate descriptions, and even detailed drawings of new and fascinating spectacles. Rocks and insects, plants and animals were being described, dissected, and defined; humans did not escape inquiry or the new methodology scientists were now armed with.
More significantly, however, were the religious debates that raged across Europe during this time. Of utmost concern was the accuracy of the creation story. If Adam and Eve were the first humans on Earth, how can we account for Chinese and African histories that predate the Bible story? The battle between monogenists, who believed the human race had a single beginning, and polygenists, who believed there were multiple origins, ensued. Crucial to the ‘proving’ of either claim was the idea of race. If one could show that Blacks and Whites represented different races (species), the polygenists triumphed. If however, it was possible to argue that the two groups were merely ‘varieties’ as Kant suggested, the Biblical account remained in tact….
Look for my upcoming article explaining how the concept of race evolved into the politically charged idea it is today.
