I contend that the continued racial classification of Homo sapiens represents an outmoded approach to the general problem of differentiation within a species. In other words, I reject a racial classification of humans for the same reasons that I prefer not to divide into subspecies the prodigiously variable West Indian land snails that form the subject of my own research.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Gould argues that racial classification is outdated, comparing humans to highly variable snails that shouldn't be divided into subspecies.
- In plain terms
- Humans are too varied to classify by race, just like variable snails shouldn't be split into subspecies.
- What can you take from it?
- Treat human racial categories as scientifically obsolete.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How should we talk about race without biology?
- Does culture create race?
Another view
Some may argue social reality of race persists regardless of biology.
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