Comparison Of The Enlightenment And Bernier's Classification System
During the 17th and 18th century a wave of reformation was spreading throughout Europe like wildfire. Humanity began to rethink the traditional views of society, culture, politics, and the economy. This wave of reformation was known as the Enlightenment Period. European philosophers created new ways to classify the people of the world. Carl Linnaeus was a European scientist who was influenced by the Enlightenment period. He used nature and science to create a system. He was the first individual to create the first system of classifying organisms. He also created a system of “race” for humans. He based his system of classification based on their physical characteristics, cultural, regional, and moral qualities. This system laid the foundation
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However, the second edition of his classification system marked a shift to physical appearance and not only geographical locations. This was the first time the term “race” had surfaced in the European vocabulary. While using both geographic and physical appearance to classify groups of individuals, one European philosopher created a system to classify humans only a physical appearance. Francois Bernier, a French philosopher who was the first individual to attempt a racial classification without the use of geographic influence. He used physical features such as skin color, facial features, and the texture of hair. Even though Bernier’s system was not as precise as other systems of racial classification. However, it revealed a transition from the traditional ways of thinking showing that the enlightenment period was taking the normal way of thinking and creating new ideals. Each system was biased towards Europeans because no matter how the system was established at this time. Europeans were considered to be dominant and the Africans were inferior when compared to other races. The Greeks using nude sculptures as part of a ranking system is an example of how the Europeans were biased. Each system had its perks and flaws. These systems were a guide, which helped create a modern day system that would classify individuals in an accurate unbiased
However, the second edition of his classification system marked a shift to physical appearance and not only geographical locations. This was the first time the term “race” had surfaced in the European vocabulary. While using both geographic and physical appearance to classify groups of individuals, one European philosopher created a system to classify humans only a physical appearance. Francois Bernier, a French philosopher who was the first individual to attempt a racial classification without the use of geographic influence. He used physical features such as skin color, facial features, and the texture of hair. Even though Bernier’s system was not as precise as other systems of racial classification. However, it revealed a transition from the traditional ways of thinking showing that the enlightenment period was taking the normal way of thinking and creating new ideals. Each system was biased towards Europeans because no matter how the system was established at this time. Europeans were considered to be dominant and the Africans were inferior when compared to other races. The Greeks using nude sculptures as part of a ranking system is an example of how the Europeans were biased. Each system had its perks and flaws. These systems were a guide, which helped create a modern day system that would classify individuals in an accurate unbiased