Racism By Kwame Anthony Appiah Summary

Kwame Anthony Appiah who wrote “Racisms”, believes that extrinsic racism is when people has a belief that different races are different genetically and that results in different treatments. “members of different races differ in respects that warrant the differential treatment, respects, -such as honesty or courage or intelligence – that are controversially held (held at least in most contemporary cultures) to be acceptable as basis for treating people differently.” (p.691) This is morally wrong to Appiah because it is not true at all. Humans are humans, even if there are different races, the genes that contributes to race does not set different races’ intelligence and moral standards, it is the teaching and environment that shapes the people. “the genes that account for the gross morphological differences that underlie our standard racial categories are not linked to those genes that determine, to whatever degree such matters

Many years ago people weren’t divided by “race” but were divided by their religion, language, and status. We are all one ‘race’ because we are very similar to each other. The scientists could not find any explanation or DNA evidence to convince us that there are differences between ‘races’-group of people, therefore ‘biological race’ is not real which leads people to the conclusion that is just a myth. Human variation is very complex we aren’t alike; different hair texture, eye shape, and skin color but we are one ‘race.’ Racism takes potentially an idea of ‘race’ because it is used to separate one group from other; even if we don’t share the same languages, customs or cultures we aren’t that diverse ‘human variation/genetic markers’ with each other. Indeed, no matter how we see each other and we nor approve or disapprove the idea of race; we are all ‘one

Extrinsic racism is the view that the races inherently have different essences that entail different morally relative traits (Appiah 393). “Extrensic racist make moral distinctions between members of different races because they believe that the racial essence entails certain morally

Racism is defined by merriam-webster.com as ‘1. A belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. 2. Racial prejudice or discrimination.’ Racism exists among all races and ethnicities, but most prominently between whites and blacks. The most basic cause of racism begins with the idea that there is something different between different ethnicities. Though that thought is illogical, it is one that seems inevitable. The amount of hatred one can hold against another because of the difference in their skin pigmentation is uncanny. There are an uncountable amount of sources on racism to be found just by merely looking on the internet. In

What is racism? The Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines racism as “a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race”. Is it actions or beliefs that make someone or something fundamentally racist? These are the main ideas behind J.L.A Garcia’s paper “The Heart of Racism” and Tommie Shelby paper “Is Racism in the Heart?”

Racism has been a social issue for centuries in history, and the situation of it has been up and down a couple of times during the past few centuries. Speaking from my personal perspective, the issue of racism has been solved well than ever comparing with how bad this problem had been in other time periods in history. However, the improvement of elimination of racism is still not enough to solve this historical problem.

In order to answer the question, there needs to be a set definition and understanding of what racism is. Dictionary.com provides well writing definition of the word.

What is racism? Racism is the attribution of characteristics of superiority or inferiority to a population sharing certain physically inherited characteristics. One of the several reasons that racism has flourished in the U.S. is because of the exploitative relations that Europeans established with the peoples they conquered. The Europeans constructed the belief system that allowed them to justify their actions by claiming that Africans belonged to an inferior race. There was a colonial rule over nonwhites and denied them rights of political participation.

Flagrant racism will always exist on some level in the sinful world. Weather on a large scale, such as the American slavery period, or on smaller scale with personal prejudices amongst individuals, people will always tend to discriminate towards others of different genetic nature. This realization leads to the natural problem of how to take measures against racism and its affects. The answer lies in how we treat any other wrong: When racism or prejudice affects a people group in a way that violates the law or causes a disruption to the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, it must be dealt with legal repercussions. However, in today’s society this does not seem to prevail. Instead of placing a forefront on racism, people seem

In today’s modern society, we live in a world where racism amongst people of different races has the ability and potential to express itself in a variety of ways. This expression of racism could vary depending on geography, culture, time period, etc. Nevertheless, regardless of these possible factors, racism is likely taking shape in some way or form, whether one is cognizant of it or not. This racism that seems to be occurring throughout the world, has had and continues to have a profound effect on the way we live today, not only economically and politically, but socially as well. Many philosophers have studied racism, looking at the situation from various standpoints and perspectives. In an attempt to get a full understanding, racism is

“Racism is man's gravest threat to man - the maximum of hatred for a minimum of reason.” (Abraham Joshua Heschel), racism is something we have been witnessed throughout history and unfortunately, are still witnessing in our lives. It is the discrimination of different races and the belief that one color of skin is superior to the other, has more mental and physical abilities. However, many people forget or refuse to believe that race is only a biogenetical classification not a social category. This has become a major issue where people judge others with different color of skin, language, culture, religion and beliefs and looks without knowing them. This means people are making unprecedented judgements and the assumptions they make has nothing

As was previously stated, racism has been a worldwide issue, significantly in American history. And is based on prejudice, discrimination, or hostility directed against someone of a different race and on the belief, that one's own race is superior. Another Important fact to realize, was that racism dominated earlier centuries when first introduced to different cultures. Foreign fear of facing a different race or culture, resulted to peculiar and manipulative expressions. Nevertheless, as humans have advanced, we have conclusively overcome cultural and ethnic differences.

However, that is not to say that one should ever stop trying to prevent racism in communities, schools, and workplaces. Racism will always create hatred, fear, and violence. One can not be a peaceful racist; there are always those negative effects. The most straightforward solution to racism would be to simply treat everyone with equal opportunity. However, due to seemingly uncontrollable fear of loss and displacement, ignorance, and a desire to be superior, it seems that there will always be some measure of racism in today’s world and minds. It is each individual’s job to prevent it as much as that individual

Racism means discrimination or prejudice against someone due to their race, religion or ethnicity. People feeling superior upon a minority results in discrimination towards that minority, and it can be done verbally using racial slurs targeted at that group or physically and that is all because of their race or religion. Consequently, situations like these can spread hate and divides people into groups. Racism can be seen in social situations and political issues; therefore, these issues may lead to segregation, apartheid, and xenophobia. This is a pivotal issue; however, various effective measures can be implemented to resolve this critical problem.

Finally, although racism is a social construct and not an innate behavior, I believe it cannot be eradicated because of our environment and nature. As our parents and relatives implement this idea of racism and discrimination into us as a child, we go on and teach it to our children and friends. It has been built into our society and passed down through generations like a tradition. Even if we try to change our values, there will always be differences between humanity which would eventually lead to another form of discrimination.