Against the New Metaphysics of Race

Ludwig, David

doi:10.1086/680487

Cited by 24 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Glasgow, 2003; Andreasen, 2004; Kitcher, 2007; Gannett, 2010; Sesardic, 2010; Hardimon, 2012; Hochman, 2013; Kaplan & Winther, 2014; Spencer, 2014; Kopec, forthcoming; Ludwig, forthcoming; Donovan, forthcoming; Spencer, forthcoming). Our results contribute to these discussions by clarifying the phenotypic consequences of single-locus genetic diversity partitioning and multilocus classification results.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implications of the apportionment of human genetic diversity for the apportionment of human phenotypic diversity

Edge

Rosenberg

2015

Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in

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Researchers in many fields have considered the meaning of two results about genetic variation for concepts of “race.” First, at most genetic loci, apportionments of human genetic diversity find that worldwide populations are genetically similar. Second, when multiple genetic loci are examined, it is possible to distinguish people with ancestry from different geographical regions. These two results raise an important question about human phenotypic diversity: To what extent do populations typically differ on phenotypes determined by multiple genetic loci? It might be expected that such phenotypes follow the pattern of similarity observed at individual loci. Alternatively, because they have a multilocus genetic architecture, they might follow the pattern of greater differentiation suggested by multilocus ancestry inference. To address the question, we extend a well-known classification model of Edwards (2003) by adding a selectively neutral quantitative trait. Using the extended model, we show, in line with previous work in quantitative genetics, that regardless of how many genetic loci influence the trait, one neutral trait is approximately as informative about ancestry as a single genetic locus. The results support the relevance of single-locus genetic-diversity partitioning for predictions about phenotypic diversity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implications of the apportionment of human genetic diversity for the apportionment of human phenotypic diversity

Edge

Rosenberg

2015

Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in

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“…Mallon 2006;Gannett 2010;Winther and Kaplan 2013;Ludwig 2015a). I have already argued that controversies about racial ontologies reflect non-epistemic concerns that shape explanatory interests regarding human diversity.…”

Section: Non-epistemic Values In Ontological Choicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ontological Choices and the Value-Free Ideal

Ludwig

2015

Erkenn

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The aim of this article is to argue that ontological choices in scientific practice undermine common formulations of the value-free ideal in science. First, I argue that the truth values of scientific statements depend on ontological choices. For example, statements about entities such as species, race, memory, intelligence, depression, or obesity are true or false relative to the choice of a biological, psychological, or medical ontology. Second, I show that ontological choices often depend on non-epistemic values. On the basis of these premises, I argue that it is often neither possible nor desirable to evaluate scientific statements independently of non-epistemic values. Finally, I suggest that considerations of ontological choices do not only challenge the value-free ideal but also help to specify positive roles of non-epistemic values in an often neglected area of scientific practice.

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“…1 do therefore not provide straightforward answers to questions about the referent of race. In this sense, shifting the focus from concepts to conceptions does not lead to traditional metaphysical positions from anti-realism to biological realism but complements deflationist perspectives as expressed in my earlier critique of the ''new metaphysics of race'' (Ludwig 2014(Ludwig , 2015 that was based on the assumption that race ''is too ambiguous and vague to support a general metaphysical debate about the question whether human races exist' ' (2015, 258).…”

Section: A Framework For Relating Racial Ontologiesmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…At least for the purposes of a globally engaged metaphysics of race, it therefore often seems more adequate to move away from race concepts and to focus on conceptions that provide more complex but admittedly also more ambiguous answers to questions about the nature and reality of race. 6 Indeed, one may ask whether a framework that circumvents clear answers about the reality and nature of race should still be called ''metaphysics'' as it seems to be closer to deflationist criticism of the current state of metaphysics (Gannett 2010;Lemeire 2017;Ludwig 2015;Mallon 2006;McPherson 2015). An answer to this question largely depends on how broad ''metaphysics'' is conceived and whether straightforward answers to questions about the existence and nature of races are seen as a prerequisite of proper metaphysics of race (Hochman 2016).…”

Section: A Framework For Relating Racial Ontologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

How race travels: relating local and global ontologies of race

Ludwig

2018

Philos Stud

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This article develops a framework for addressing racial ontologies in transnational perspective. In contrast to simple contextualist accounts, it is argued that a globally engaged metaphysics of race needs to address transnational continuities of racial ontologies. In contrast to unificationist accounts that aim for one globally unified ontology, it is argued that questions about the nature and reality of race do not always have the same answers across national contexts. In order address racial ontologies in global perspective, the article develops a framework that accounts for both continuities and discontinuities by looking beyond the referents of narrowly defined core concepts. By shifting the focus from narrow concepts to richer conceptions of race, racial ontologies become comparable through globally related but nonetheless distinct mappings between conceptions and property relations. The article concludes by showing how this framework can generate novel insights in case studies from Asia, Europe, and Latin America.

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Against the New Metaphysics of Race

Cited by 24 publications

References 45 publications

Implications of the apportionment of human genetic diversity for the apportionment of human phenotypic diversity

Implications of the apportionment of human genetic diversity for the apportionment of human phenotypic diversity

Ontological Choices and the Value-Free Ideal

How race travels: relating local and global ontologies of race

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