[Taxacom] Race and taxonomy

[Michael A. Ivie]

Too many botanists in this discussion of animal taxonomy ("races" of 
Homo sapiens).  Just follow the Zoologists, forward thinking, brilliant 
people that we are, who don't recognize "race" at all in our 
nomenclature code.  We dropped that infrasubspecific trash eons ago.  We 
can say that human populations vary in biological ways, but a Race is 
something for NASCAR fans.

Mike

Thomas Lammers wrote:
> Dick:
>
> I'm a Mayrian when it comes to these things, too, but I think you are waging an unwinnable "tomato is a fruit" debate.  As WE define "race" you are correct.   As the average person defines it, well, that's another matter.  You really are dealing with homonyms here; the word race doesn't mean the same thing to you as it does to them, just as "fruit" doesn't mean the same thing to a structural botanist as it does to a green grocer.
>
> You can argue this case from as purely an innocent academic perspective as you want, but there are forces afoot who will have no qualms about painting you as a fascist bigot and reactionary hatemonger.  There may even be those who feel the needthreaten you with personal violence if they learn that you believe "race has a biological basis."   
>
> We probably should just abandon the term as too semantically loaded for general use and replace it with subspecies or prole or jordanon or somesuch.  
>
> ---- Original Message -----
> From: Richard Jensen <rjensen at saintmarys.edu>
>
>   
>> I have become involved in an interesting discussion on my 
>> campus.  One 
>> of our faculty proposed a new course that included, in its 
>> statement of 
>> intent, the following clause:  "...race has no biological 
>> basis."  I 
>> took exception to this 
>>     
>
>
> Thomas G. Lammers, Ph.D.
>
> Associate Professor and Curator of the Herbarium
> Department of Biology and Microbiology
> University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
>
> http://www.uwosh.edu/departments/biology/Lammers.htm
> http://www.kewbooks.com/asps/ShowDetails.asp?id=615
>
>
>
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>
>   

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