Redefining Reality - The Intellectual Implications of Modern Science

Note that there are three arguments here: (1) Geography determines
visible biological markers. (2) The visible biological markers are
behavior, intellectual ability, and human worth. Science in the 20 th
century tried to document and cement all three of these steps.
color and texture; eye color; eye, lip, and nose shape—all seem
to vary across the globe in ways that lead to grouping. Darwin’s
theory of evolution led to an interest in such variations, and it
was found that the observable differences among populations
color are tied to the body’s needs for vitamin D and folate, or
vitamin B 9
, both of which are affected by the Sun and required for
successful reproduction.
Using this difference in skin color and other observable traits,
anthropologists divided the human race into four races based on
geographical regions similar to those of Kant: Causasoids (white
Europeans), Mongoloids (Asians), Negroids (Africans), and
Australoids (Australian aboriginals). Much work was done trying
to track the distribution of various physical traits, called clines, in
human populations.
variations. Two main results arose from this clinal mapping.
First, when we look at any given characteristic, we never see
sharp cutoffs but, rather, smooth transitions in populations
living between two distinct areas. If we are trying to form
properties are a matter of degree undermines that effort.
Second, the clinal maps for different properties are all different.
If we map the change in skin color, we get different maps for
differences in hair texture, eye shape, and so on. It’s true that
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