Gould: AD Study Guide

Gould: AD Study Guide
These are key questions in understanding the “The Geometer of Race” article. AD will work together to create a study guide for Gould that will be useful for you individually in your personal analysis for the essay and the PWT.

Please write your answer on this page. Write in full sentences, explain your answer fully and clearly, and finally, check your writing for any grammar or spelling errors. Don't forget, click save when you are done.

1. Everyone should do this first: In your text, draw and label a diagram below to represent Blumenbach’s Model, see Gould p. 151, lines 6-16. We will check answers next class.

2. Now, please answer your individual question below:

A
1. What are the first two questions the author asks in this section? (Chiaki)

First question is "Why are political radicals called 'left' and their conservative counterparts 'right'?"

Second one is "Why should the most common racial group of the Western world be named for a mountain range that straddles Russia and Georgia?" (Chiaki) (Yoko)

2. What are the answers? (Ryosuke) (Shintaro)

Answer 1
In many European legislatures, the most distinguished members sat at the chairman's right and they tended to espouse conservative views. That is why conservative political radicals are called "right" and their counterparts are called "left". (Ryosuke) (Taichi)

Answer 2
The name Caucasian was defined by Blumenbach who wrote "De Generis Humani Varietate Nativa". He took this name from Mount Caucasus because of the two reasons. First, he believed that its neighborhood especially its southern slope produced the most beautiful race of men which means Georgian. Second, he believed that this region was the origin of mankind. (Shintaro) (Taichi)

3. What two questions does he leave as yet unanswered? (Misaki)

First one is "Why should the most common racial group of the Western world be named for a mountain range that straddles Russia and Georgia?" and second one is "Why should an aesthetic criterion become the basis of a scientific judgment about place of origin?"

4. Why doesn’t he answer those questions at this point? (Tomoya) (Yuki)

He requires us to make a comparison between Blumenbach's original 1775 text and edited 1795 text, when Caucasians received their name. (Yuki) (Seiya)

B
1. What is the “paradox” the author refers to? (Nagiko)

It is widely accepted that Blumenbach was the person who created modern racial classification. However, his only original achievement was to add a Malay variety to Linnaeus' previous four-race system. (Nagiko) (Ikue)

2. What does Gould mean by the statement “This change has been missed or misconstrued…”? (Aya)

Blumenbach created his classification based on Linnaeus' original taxonomy. He basically added the Malay race to reformulate his theory of human diversity. This small change can seem insignificant; however, it records a theoretical shift. According to the text, "this change" refers to the difference of classification of race, between Blumenbach and Linnaeus (Aya) (Ken) from a classification based on geography (Linnaeus) to a model that explicitly ranked peoples in a hierarchy of worth based on his personal perceptions of beauty (Blumenbach). (Owen)

[Therefore, it is difficult for scholar to grasp the idea of classification by using the method of classifying them with vital historical and philosophical principle. Gould would like to emphasize that Blumenbach's original classification brought huge confusion and misunderstanding among scholar. (Aya)(Ken)] - This part of the original text, is not accurate. (Owen)

C
In this section the author provides straightforward background information on Blumenbach and on the relationship with his mentor and teacher, Linnaeus.

1. What are the four groups Linnaeus identifies? List some of their characteristics. (Rina)

Americanus (American variety) is red, choleric,upright and ruled by habit.
Europaeus (European variety) is white, sanguine, muscular and ruled by custom.
Asiaticus (Asian variety) is pale yellow, melancholy, stiff and ruled by belief.
Afer (African variety) is black, phlegmatic, relaxed and ruled by caprice. (LiHwa) (Rina)

2. Why does Gould compare the shift from a geographic to a hierarchical ordering of human diversity with railroads and nuclear bombs? (Masatada) (Taichi)

The reason why Gould compared the shift from a geographic to a hierarchical ordering of human diversity with railroads and nuclear bombs is that Blumenbach's ideas have critically affected people's conception of race and what is more opened the door to racism. These influences and impacts are the same as railroads and the nuclear bomb in that they directly impact our daily lives, although people are usually unconscious of their huge significance.

D
1. Try to paraphrase Gould's statement, "Scientists assume that their own shifts in interpretation record only their better understanding of newly discovered facts. They tend to be unaware of their own mental impositions upon the world's messy and ambiguous factuality." (Hisako)

When scientists develop their own theory, there are two influences upon scientists: newly discovered facts and their personal beliefs which have been unconsciously shaped by society or politics. However, scientists assume that only newly discovered facts influence their theory. Therefore, most scientists are not aware of the personal mental impositions which act on their theories. (Hisako)

2. What does the author mean by the statement “When scientists adopt…”? Can you relate this to your knowledge of Perception? (Eito) (Misato)

According to the author, scientists' personal mental impositions can be as important as their observations because scientists do not realize the movements that occur in the bottom of their minds. And these movements make them change their interpretations. Therefore, it is related to the part "Sensation and Interpretation" of Fisher. (Misato) (Yuki) (Hisako)

E
1. Can you paraphrase the quote which begins “There is no single character so peculiar…”? (Li Hwa)

There is not a single unique characteristic or trait that exists in only one variety of mankind that does not also exist in all other kinds of people. (Owen)

[Black Africans among Ethiopians have no character. (Li Hwa) (Rina)] - this original answer is not accurate (Owen)

2. What did Blumenbach think of using skin color as a means of grouping peoples? (Ken) (Haruka)

Blumenbach believed that racial diversity arose as a result of peoples spread to other climates and topographies. Moreover, Blumenbach thought skin colour is easily changeable over time, and he ascribed the differences of color to the influence of the sun, the air, or the climate. Therefore, he thought skin color was (Haruka) (Aya) useless for classifying racial groups. (Owen)

[Therefore, he thought skin color is most explicit criteria to classify the racial groups. (Haruka) (Aya)] - this original part of the answer is not accurate (Owen)

He Blumenbach applied skin color to show that there are no absolute and fixed differences between humankind. Though it had been thought it is not, above all the difference will be used by racism to prove the reason, so he prevented his study from being concerned with racism. Skin color is fitted example because of its explicitness and impression. Skin color is changeable because it is influenced by the sun, the air, or the climate. Therefore, color has no aspects of constituting a diversity of species. (Ken) (Mio) - This answer is not so clear, but it seems to be basically accurate. (Owen)

F
1. At the beginning of this section the author writes, "We may now return to the riddle of the name Caucasian." Why does he say this? Where have the readers returned from? (Ikue)

At the beginning of this article, the author Gould states that Blumenbach ended in European superiority to the other races, in spite of the fact that he ascribed the "equality" of all races. Then the author explains Blumenbach's classification in detail and his theory of "equality" among races. But this is the not main point of the text. Therefore, in this section, the author returns the main point of why Blumenbach named his European variety "Caucasian."

2. What was Blumenbach's dilemma? (Seiya)

Blumenbach had stated the mental and ethical equality of all peoples. However, in the process of categorizing people, he had discriminated between Europeans and other peoples, because his ideal of the most beautiful people focused on his closest people, Europeans. Therefore, his objectivity was interrupted by his subjective views. This is Blumenbach's dilemma.

G
1. How is the statement “ But ideas do not reside in the ivory tower…” related to the College Thinking [Spring term] reading? (Juri)

[In this sentence, he meant that "ideas do not reside in the black people's world. However, the way of thinking does not have "good reason".
This is related to the "basis of belief" in the College Thinking.] - This original answer is not accurate.

Ideas do not reside in the "ivory tower" of academia, means that academics' ideas are not disconnected from the wider world. In reality, academics' ideas have the power to change peoples' lives and the world we live in. (Owen)

2. What is the purpose of the final quote “It was from America that…”? (Masaru) (Mio)

Gould quoted the words of Lord Acton to emphasize that academic ideas can transform the world drastically. (Mio) (Haruka)

3. What might Gould want to imply by this final quote?(Yoko)

Gould might want to imply that all people have the power of ideas and can change the world, furthermore they are fated to improve the world based on the "Rights of Man". (Yoko) (Chiaki)