In a Word document, write a short essay based on the questions below.

• Does the relationship between natural law and social Darwinism surprise you? Why or why not? What about the relationship between Social Darwinism and racism?
• Has your opinion of social Darwinism changed or remained the same after reading the article? Why?
• How have the theory of social Darwinism and the information in the article influenced your views of natural law and natural rights? What problems might arise in applying these theories in society?

Writing Requirements

• Your essay must be three to four pages in length.
• Your document must be double-spaced using a 12-point font with 1-inch margins and include your name at the top of the first page.
• Proofread your document to eliminate mechanical and grammatical errors.
• For citations, follow APA format.

In this second instalment of his three-part series on the controversial race question, Dr Chales Quist-Adade looks at the role Social Darwinism, Eugenics and the Church played in promoting racism. Part One (NA, Dec) ended on the positive note that all humans, of whatever “race” belong to the same gene pool. That is why all members of the “distinct races” can freely interbreed, which explains why a “white” woman and a “black” man can produce normal “white-black” offspring, but it is impossible, for instance, for a pig and a dog, to produce a pig-dog offspring. Please read on …

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Human subspecies don’t exist. Unlike many animals, modern humans simply haven’t been around long enough or isolated enough to evolve into separate subspecies or races. Despite surface appearances, we are one of the most similar of all species. Large-scale comparisons of human genomes from many individuals through DNA sequencing show that the gene pool in Africa contains more variation than elsewhere, and that the genetic variation found outside of Africa represents only a subset of that found within the African continent. From a genetic perspective, all humans are therefore Africans, either residing in Africa or in recent exile.

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* Skin colour really is only skin deep. Most traits are inherited independently from one another. The genes influencing skin colour have nothing to do with the genes influencing hair form, eye shape, blood type, musical talent, athletic ability or forms of intelligence. Knowing someone’s skin colour doesn’t necessarily tell you anything else about him or her. Most variation is within, not between, “races”. Of the small amount of total human variation, 85% exists within any local population, be they Italians, Kurds, Koreans or Cherokees. About 94% can be found within any continent. That means two random Koreans may be as genetically different as a Korean and an Italian.

* Slavery predates race. Throughout much of human history, societies have enslaved others, often as a result of conquest or war, even debt, but not because of physical characteristics or a belief in natural inferiority. Due to a unique set of historical circumstances, the European enslavement of Africans in the so-called New World was the first slave system where all the slaves shared similar physical characteristics.

* Race and freedom evolved together. The US was founded on the radical new principle that “All men are created equal”. But the early economy in that country was based largely on slavery. How could this anomaly be rationalised? The new idea of “race” helped explain why some people could be denied the rights and freedoms that others took for granted.