Critical Thinking
Two authors – Dr. Loring of the University of Michigan and Dr. George Gill – take sides on the debate about whether race exists in biological terms, to state their points of view. Loring Brace maintains that even if race does not exist, there is no “biological entity that warrants the term race.” He, however, agrees that geographic labels can be used to designate, but it does not define race. Dr. George W. Gill, on the other hand, believes that race exists. He supports his point by mentioning that more than half of anthropologists today believe in the traditional view that human races are biologically valid and real. Both authors present valid points to drive the point home. Gill argues that skeletal biologists, particularly forensic anthropologists agree that race is biologically real. On the other hand, serologists largely using blood factors tend to view human variation as clinical and races as, not valid construct.
Both authors use logical explanation to validate their point of view such that, in the end, one is not able to agree with any of them. I agree with Loring’s argument that no visible boundary that warrants classifying people according to races. Gill, on the other hand, argues that skeletons can be used to classify people according to races such as black, white, Asians, among others. Both the authors present valid arguments to justify their perspective on the topic. However, the reader cannot get a conclusive answer to the question because it seems each party has embedded interest. For example, Gill argues that accepting the existence of the race will help root out racism from the society. This might be so because he is African-American who has experienced racial discrimination.
