The Myth of Human Races

The idea that human races exist is a socially constructed myth that has no grounding in science. Regardless of skin,hair, or eye color, stature or physiognomy, we are all of one race. Nonetheless, scientists, social scientists, and pseudoscientists have, for three centuries, tried vainly to prove that distinctive and separate "races" of humanity exist. These protagonists of race theory have based their flawed research on one or more of five specious assumptions:

• humanity can be classified into groups using identifiable physical characteristics
• human characteristics are transmitted "through the blood"
• distinct human physical characteristics are inherited together
• physical features can be linked to human behavior
• human groups or "races" are by their very nature unequal and, therefore, they can be ranked in order of intellectual, moral, and cultural superiority

The Myth of Human Races systematically dispels these fallacies and unravels the web of flawed research that has been woven to demonstrate the superiority of one group of people over another.

About the Author

Professor Alain Corcos taught nature and philosophy of science for twenty-six years at Michigan State University. He has written many scientific articles, and three books published by university presses: The Myth of Human Races, The Myth of the Jewish Race, and Gregor Mendel Experiments; on Plant Hybrids: A Guided Study. He is also the author of The Little Yellow Train, Four Short True Stories of a French Family, Who Is a Jew? Thoughts of a Biologist, and Atheism, Science and Me.