Racism has always been one of the social stigmas of human society. The existence of visible differences in people’s appearances created the basis for the distribution of populations into groups depending on the color of their skin and some other features. Unfortunately, it was not the only consequence of the given division, as the ideas of the inferior and superior character of particular races emerged. It gave rise to the centuries of discrimination, segregation, and humiliation of individuals who were in vulnerable positions. Today, with the development of the humanistic paradigm, there are many attempts to eliminate this negative tendency and explain the nature of these ideas. Kwame Anthony Appiah also offers his own vision of this issue and tries to create the theoretical framework for its better understanding, which is fundamental for the successful avoidance of these inhumane practices in the future.
First of all, in his work, Appiah assumes that there are some propositions that result in the appearance of various forms of racism. Among them is the idea that “there are heritable characteristics, possessed by members of our species, that allow us to divide them into a small set of races“ (Appiah, 2010, p. 635). The existence of these features preconditions the expectations of their behaviors in accordance with the stereotypes (Kendi, 2017). This racialism, as Appiah calls it, influences our informal classifications and how we interact with people (Appiah, 2010). In such a way, it becomes one of the perquisites for the appearance and development of undesired, discriminative attitudes, and determinations. The main problem of this perspective is that it provides moral qualities and the model of their distribution across races, which makes some of them dominant (Appiah, 2010). The give paradigm also preconditions the emergence of the question of minority races, which possess some insignificant qualities (Bonilla-Silva, 2017). It results in the creation of an environment that contradicts the ideas of tolerance.
In his cogitations about discrimination, Appiah also offers the terms extrinsic and intrinsic racism. He states that there is a dangerous view that other races are morally inferior because of the existence of morally inferior characteristics among them (Appiah, 2010). In other words, the qualities mentioned above and that serve for the differentiation of races are used to segregate people into categories and precondition various attitudes to them. The given idea lays the ground for the appearance of multiple discriminations because of the emergence of so-called minor races that can be treated in different ways (Golash-Boza, 2014). At the same time, accepting the modern idea that all people are equal, it also undermines the concept of social justice and relations between people in society (Atkins & Oglesby, 2018). If we presuppose that some people have features that are not so important as ours, the reason for the biased attitude to them emerges. It results in further cultivation of racism and its existence as a part of people’s worldview.
As for the extrinsic racism, Appiah offers his cogitations about it. He states that this form of discrimination “has usually been the basis for treating people worse than we otherwise might” (Appiah, 2010, p. 640). It is the idea that races differ in various qualities, and this factor justifies the existence of many attitudes to individuals. For example, even a significant number of African-Americans have extrinsic answers to why black people should not be given full civil rights (Appiah, 2010). That is why one should realize the fact that adherence to this paradigm has a negative impact on relations between individuals and their cooperation. It is an entirely wrong idea to differentiate between persons using the color of their skin as the factor that also presupposes the existence of some qualities in them. On the contrary, today, with the rise of humanistic perspectives, both intrinsic and extrinsic forms might precondition the appearance of multiple misconceptions and misunderstandings.
In such a way, in his work, Appiah offers critically important cogitations about racism that can be used to explain its roots and why people might engage in discriminative behaviors and judgments. The author also suggests a family model to show that the defense of racism can be compared to the protection of a family and its core moral values (Appiah, 2010). However, it becomes not acceptable in contemporary society as the desire to barrier a certain way of life should not affect other people as it a direct threat to justice and a ground for the appearance of segregation or discrimination.
Altogether, racism is one of the ugliest forms of relations between people as it rests on the idea that some races have qualities that can justify their behaviors. Appiah manages to reveal factors that precondition the appearance of various discriminative models in people’s collaboration and explain how they impact people’s relations. One should realize the fact that the acceptance of these views creates the basis for the development of social injustice and problematic state of minor races that experience barriers because of some inherited features, characteristics of their skin, or other insignificant factors. His argument shows that there are no relevant reasons for the adherence to biased judgments.
References
Appiah, K. (2010). Racisms. In J. Perry, M. Bratman, & J. Fisher (Eds.), Introduction to Philosophy (pp. 634-644). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Atkins, R., & Oglesby, A. (2018). Interrupting racism. New York, NY: Routledge.
Bonilla-Silva, E. (2017). Racism without racists: Color-blind racism and the persistence of racial inequality in America (5th ed.). London, England: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Golash-Boza, T. (2014). Race and racisms: A critical approach. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Kendi, I. (2017). Stamped from the beginning: The definitive history of racist ideas in America. New York, NY: Bold Type Books.