Biological Theory and the Metaphysics of Race: A Reply to Kaplan and Winther

被引：10
作者：
Spencer Q. [1 ]
机构：
[1] Department of Philosophy, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
来源：
Biological Theory | 2013年 / 8卷 / 1期
关键词：
Biodiversity; Biological theory; Genetics; Kinds; Ontology; Race;
D O I：
10.1007/s13752-013-0095-1
中图分类号：
学科分类号：
摘要：
In Kaplan and Winther’s recent article (Biol Theory. doi:10.1007/s13752-012-0048-0, 2012) they argue for three bold theses: first, that “it is illegitimate to read any ontology about ‘race’ off of biological theory or data”; second, that “using biological theory to ground race is a pernicious reification”; and, third, that “race is fundamentally a social rather than a biological category.” While Kaplan and Winther’s theses are thoughtful, I show that the arguments that their theses rest on are unconvincing. In order to be constructive, I go on to show exactly how one can use biological theory and data to legitimately infer an ontological view of race, to infer a biological view of race that is not a reification, and to argue that race is both socially constructed and biologically real. © 2013, Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research.
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页码：114 / 120
页数：6
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