The Resurgence Of Race In Science

Angela Saini exposes how some scientists even today use race to define intelligence, behaviour, predisposition to diseases and even creativity

- Bhavya Khullar

In superior, science writer and journalist Angela Saini presents concrete evidence to debunk the age-old concept of “race”, which has been used to attribute differences between individuals based on something as biologically fundamental as genes. Some scientists and mainly politically-driven individuals have portrayed traits such as intelligence, subjugated behavior, predisposition to diseases, creativity, modernity and physical built to be linked to genes alias race.

Interestingly, the race is not a centuries-old, biological concept. It is rather a recent and political concept, says Saini. “I wanted to understand fully what race really means, and although this may seem like a banal question, it’s actually incredibly thorny and subtle. In the current political climate, it felt like the perfect time,” she said. In the late 18th century, for instance, the race was used to justify heinous crimes on humans. Saini lists several such examples of atrocities committed on human communities that were then justified in the name of race and backed by science.