It is no secret that modern Western anthropology and related disciplines were founded by white American and European scholars, many of whom held racist views. According to Gould, “…leaders and intellectuals did not doubt the propriety of racial ranking – with Indians below whites, and blacks below everybody else” (63).
However, since the mid-20th century, many scientific theories that affect racial biology have been revised by a new generation of specialists. This paper will highlight the main methods of refuting the works of racist anthropologists and how they influenced the emergence of stereotypes about people of color.
Scientific Techniques in the Analysis of Prejudices and Lies
Unlike their predecessors, new anthropologists such as Gould and Stepan were free from racial prejudice. For example, Gould (86) uses comparative data analysis, bibliographic, and historical records to study the life and views of racist anthropologists and disprove and criticize their works. Stepan (360), on the other hand, approaches from a linguistic point of view, criticizing the incorrectness of analogy as a method of creating a scientific conclusion. Similar analytical work on the analysis of early anthropology made an invaluable contribution to the creation of an equal society in the last century.
The Negative Impact of Analogy in Scientific Methodology
The first approaches to the theory and practice of scientific activity were mostly primitive; therefore, they generated incorrect data and results. For example, racist stereotypes of blacks as animal beings are based on a comparison of human and ape skulls (Gould 67). Further use of the analogy in interpreting results led to the creation of an unscientific theoretical basis for the behavior of an entire group of people. A similar strategy in the field of gender research has driven to the development of negative stereotypes about women (Stepan, 361). Modern anthropology, with the help of the latest technologies, has been able to prove the wrongness and falsity of these racist and sexist studies.
Conclusion
This paper examined early racial biology through the prism of analysis of modern researchers. These specialists like Gould and Stepan, took into account the mistakes of the past and used real scientific strategies in the development of anthropological works. They also identified the origins of racial stereotypes that persist. Their works allowed me to understand that it is necessary to know the background of the authors of the studied materials to understand their relevance and competence.
Works Cited
Gould, Stephen J. The Mismeasure of Man (Revised and Expanded). W. W. Norton & Company, 2006.
Stepan, Nancy L. “Race and Gender: The Role of Analogy in Science.” Isis, vol.77, no. 2, 1986, pp. 360-375.