Is “Race” Modern?

Abstract

Race theorists have been unable to reach a consensus regarding the basic historical question, “is ‘race’ modern?” I argue that this is partly because the question itself is ambiguous. There is not really one question that race scholars are answering, but at least six. First, is the concept of race modern? Second, is there a modern concept of race that is distinct from earlier race concepts? Third, are “races” themselves modern? Fourth, are racialized groups modern? Fifth, are the means and methods associated with racialization modern? And sixth, are the meanings attached to racialized traits modern? Because these questions have different answers, the debate about the historical origins of “race” cannot be resolved unless they are distinguished. I will explain the ways in which “race” is and is not modern by answering these questions, thereby offering a resolution to a seemingly intractable problem.

Janus‐faced race: Is race biological, social, or mythical?

“…When race is defined as a social kind, it loses its conceptual specificity: it becomes inflated, and more and more categories start counting as "races." "Race" also loses its historical specificity on a social kind definition (Hochman, 2019a).…”

“…This is an example of what I have called the specificity problem or the inflation problem (Hochman, 2017). When race is defined as a social kind, it loses its conceptual specificity: it becomes inflated, and more and more categories start counting as “races.” “Race” also loses its historical specificity on a social kind definition (Hochman, 2019a). While racial thinking is usually understood to have its origins in modernity or shortly beforehand in fifteenth‐century Spain, on a social kind account its origins are hazy.…”

The Roots of Racial Categorization

“…The second challenge concerns the claim, widely held by race scholars, that racial categorization is a uniquely modern phenomenon (for a useful overview, see Hochman, 2020 Face recognition is a phylogenetically ancient capacity, but we don't see clear and abundant examples of racial categorization in ancient texts. Does this undermine the recognition-byproduct hypothesis?…”

“…On this version of the hypothesis, for bona fide racial categorization to occur, additional factors need to be in place; but once they are in place, face 6 According to convention, the modern era began with the arrival of Columbus in "The New World," in 1492. Hochman (2020) argues that the concept of race actually emerged in late medieval Spain, just before the start of the modern era. Obviously, this is still well after our capacity for face recognition first emerged.…”

“…According to one of these hypotheses, racial concepts are cultural inventions (e.g., see Hochman, 2013Hochman, , 2020Jackson, 2017;Smedley & Smedley, 2005, 19). According to the other main hypothesis-popular among evolutionary psychologists-racial categorization is the byproduct of a module that was adapted for other purposes (Cosmides et al, 2003;Gil-White, 2001; Hirschfeld 1996;Pietraszewski et al, 2014Pietraszewski et al, , 2015.…”