Summary: The Mystical Conception Of Racism
Racism entails the belief that one race is superior to another or all others in a society. For many years, dating back to the early ancient times mankind has discriminated against it’s own species. “Most people justified racism on the basis of economic, social, political, and moral factors…” (Souryal, 252). They have also used biblical text and evolutionary theories to justify the horrific and unfair treatment of certain groups. The most notable example is African Americans who were taken and imported as slaves, treated as property to be bought and sold, denied citizenship rights, and considered less than a human for most of American history. A few of the basic concepts and theories that will be discussed in this essay are the Mystical Conception
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This theory was built on the idea that some human beings are born inferior to others. As a result, this is what may have influenced American slavery. It became a natural part of life here in America and all around the world in countries where this same ideology was seen as normal. There were many enlightened thinkers around this time who truly believed in the mystical conception of racism, one of which was Aristotle who justified the practice of slavery. He stated that ““slaves may perceive reason, but are incapable of using reason”...as such, they are…”by nature fitted to become the chattel of another man, and that makes it so”” (Jackson,1990:8-13) (Souryal, 253). As noted in the book, Aristotle was morally wrong in his treatment of the subject, but it can be said that he was only a product of his …show more content…
“According to this conception, racism was an intense concern for the purity of a given race by avoiding admixture with any other race” (Souryal, 254). It is said that people are assumed to carry certain traits that, if mixed with the traits of other races, will produce inferior race. The biological conception was reinforced by the reading and certainly misinterpreting Darwinist thought. Darwin’s theory emphasized the phrase of “Survival of the Fittest” in the process of Natural Selection. He had made no attempt to classify races, but had observed differences that had been constant for a very long time. As a result, he concluded that they could not be a product of environmental factors. This is where the misinterpretation of his theory came into
This theory was built on the idea that some human beings are born inferior to others. As a result, this is what may have influenced American slavery. It became a natural part of life here in America and all around the world in countries where this same ideology was seen as normal. There were many enlightened thinkers around this time who truly believed in the mystical conception of racism, one of which was Aristotle who justified the practice of slavery. He stated that ““slaves may perceive reason, but are incapable of using reason”...as such, they are…”by nature fitted to become the chattel of another man, and that makes it so”” (Jackson,1990:8-13) (Souryal, 253). As noted in the book, Aristotle was morally wrong in his treatment of the subject, but it can be said that he was only a product of his …show more content…
“According to this conception, racism was an intense concern for the purity of a given race by avoiding admixture with any other race” (Souryal, 254). It is said that people are assumed to carry certain traits that, if mixed with the traits of other races, will produce inferior race. The biological conception was reinforced by the reading and certainly misinterpreting Darwinist thought. Darwin’s theory emphasized the phrase of “Survival of the Fittest” in the process of Natural Selection. He had made no attempt to classify races, but had observed differences that had been constant for a very long time. As a result, he concluded that they could not be a product of environmental factors. This is where the misinterpretation of his theory came into