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Essay / Evolutionary and Psychological Perspective on Racism
Table of ContentsSummaryIntroductionAncient History to PresentEvolutionary ScienceNatured versus NurturedConclusionSummaryPrejudice and racism are used interchangeably, but have completely independent meanings. Prejudice was the preconceived idea based on the observation of facts or experiences. Cultural racism was defined as the belief in the superiority of Europeans. Racism was explained through evolution by Darwin, biologically and culturally. Humans have lived in exclusive groups and have inadvertently favored racialized approaches. From a cultural and psychological perspective, racism is shaped by our culture, and our culture is shaped by racism. From this point of view, the adoption of these behaviors deflected any attempt at intervention. Evolutionary psychology claimed that the reasoning behind the idea that certain traits survive was because those genes were elected by evolution. This perspective suggested that racism was established because it favored our ancestors to deny other races. Darwinism stated that evolutionary progression occurs due to the destruction of the weak in "survival of the fittest". Racial classification began around the 1500s, and these ideas about race were used so that real injustices were justified. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayKeywords: racism, cultural racism, prejudice, evolutionary psychological perspectiveIntroductionRacism is present throughout our culture. According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, racism is “the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and abilities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race” (Racism, 2003). It is the belief that one race or group is more superior to others. This hatred is based on differences between skin color, language or colors. It is a pervasive and complex social problem. Racism is not just a feeling or a reaction, nor is it entirely the result of prejudice. One study suggests that “racism is often defined as individual bias, but racism is also systemic, existing in the advantages and disadvantages imprinted in cultural artifacts, ideological discourse, and institutional realities that work together with individual biases” (Salter et al., 2018). Racism has affected all types, classes and groups of people. In this article, I discussed the different sociological aspects of racism and the evolutionary theoretical perspective of this ideology. This article discusses the issues that need to be addressed in order to eliminate racism in the future. From ancient history to today Since the 1930s, in social psychology, it has been an important topic when discussing the issue of racism. Individuals claimed that racism was biological or evolutionary. Researchers have noticed that racism is present in everyday life. To this day, we still perpetuate racialized environments through our selection and inclinations. We reside in cultural places that encourage these behaviors (Banton, 2018). We can see that racism is intertwined and connected in our daily lives. In the 19th century, racism was a religious argument, based on the writings of the Bible. From 1850 to 1950, it was a biological debate that was established in the field of natural sciences. Historical conflicts were based on the idea that racism is inherent in our history. Studies havediscovered that now that white Americans make up less than 50% of the population, ethnic diversity and racism are increasing. Researchers have suggested that the shift from majority to minority population is responsible for certain beliefs. One article stated: "We propose a framework for understanding and predicting the effects of anticipated increases in racial diversity, which highlights the competing influences of intergroup concerns, such as relative group status and power, and more interpersonal experiences, such as positive contact, on intergroup relations (Craig et al., 2018).Evolutionary ScienceEvolutionary scientists strongly disagreed that race is determined by phenotypes. An American scientist hypothesized that populations are distinguished from each other by the alleles present in the blood. An anthropologist, C. Loring Brace, conclusively concluded that phenotypic illustrations of races do not account for significant traits because they are not strongly related. Another researcher used anatomization of skulls to break down ethnic groups. Samuel Morton used this theory to support his assertion that interracial intellectual disparities are manifested through the internal capacity of the skull. Colonialism and slavery were justified by the belief in “scientific racism.” Galton, founder of eugenics, attempted to involve the masses in the ideology that racial groups with desirable traits are more superior than groups with lesser traits. supporter of the work of Darwin and the theory of evolution. He created the argument between nature and nurture, due to the discord between the two. A feminist scientist who translated Darwin's work said: "The superior races are destined to supplant the inferior races... One must think carefully before demanding political and civic equality between peoples composed of a minority Indo-European and a Mongol or black majority” (Darwin, 1862). Natural versus nurtured racism is described as a systematic problem rooted in our history. in our culture, history, artifacts, and “institutional realities that work together with individual biases” (Salter et al., 2018) attempted to describe racism from an evolutionary perspective. Evolutionary psychology has portrayed this ideology based on scientific reasoning of the superiority of certain groups of people (Moule, 2009). Individuals are not born with the ideology of racism, they are taught these notions of bigotry. Some have suggested that individuals learn these attitudes and beliefs from childhood. “Theory and research in cultural psychology emphasize the need to examine racism not only “in the head” but also “in the world.” (Salter et al., 2018). Scientists have debated whether racism is culturally perpetuated, biological, or comes from other theories. What everyone agreed on was the ramifications of racism and its harmful effects. One study stated that "this version of race is defined by social and historical forces and is used to create and justify many of the divisions that exist between people of diverse religious, ethnic, or geographic backgrounds" (Anderson et al., 2004). From an evolutionary perspective, scientists have suggested that tribes frequently interacted with each other through marriage alliances and to change tribes. Apparently, there was no trace of racially based hostility. Anthropologists have suggested that "the social and spatial boundaries between..