Classification is the way people are classified according by their characteristics and/ or qualities. Classification, has been a process of evolution that has developed over time. Meaning everything has changed over long periods of time by a process called natural selection. We have classified everything around us, whether it is a living or nonliving organism. We humans categorize things because it helps us form a cognitive framework of understanding the complexity even though the framework is still imperfect. Linnaeus talks about the system of classification and when we classify things we impact the way it is interpreted, it is also the birth of racism. Sampson talks about how words shouldn’t hurt others, but should be used to expand our knowledge. …show more content…
He believed that the creation of new species was possible, but that it was limited. Overall what Linnaeus did was put every object and human in a certain class. He classified systems of the natural world and standardized the naming of species and put them in order depending on their characteristics with one another. The assumptions he leads this, too, is that god has something to do with him classifying things. Classifying things put everything in a hierarchy chart and that makes it seem like we are putting things high to low, like what is most valuable and this is problematic because, like I said before, other organism like people of color and or animals don’t have a voice and they are just being defined by how they look, how they came to be, etc. Everyone should have a voice and be able to speak up about how they feel. Some might not want to be classified as they are, but as long as it is not hurting them or any other group it should be acceptable. It should be accepted if they agree because classification can be bias, inaccurate, and unfair. Sampson’s view is that words should be used to expand one’s knowledge. Evoliteracy and evolution open new ideas and options for people to believe …show more content…
I believe that is not a place for anyone to classify anything for what they think they belong to because everyone might classify themselves differently. For example, an animal doesn’t have a voice and it probably would not want to be classified at a lower level than anything. Because probably in their perspective, they feel and think they are superior. Like we humans believe that we deserve to be superior than anyone else in that hierarchy chart due to the fact that we say we are more “intelligent” and have a better understanding of what is going on. Like everyone should be able to think and speak up for themselves. Sampson said we need to keep living how we are to keep understanding our past, but some of the humans, objects or organism don’t want to live in the past and want to start fresh. What if they don’t want to be classified how they began to be classified many years ago? In reality classification has worked for many years, but it is wrong because not everyone is being considerate about how others think everything or themselves should be classified as. In closing, the way we organize humans, organisms, and objects determines the amount of power that we are giving them because classifying everything has a major
Darwin did not come up with his theory out of nowhere. Like anyone else who has made discoveries, he was influenced by others. For quite a long time before Darwin, people didn't look beyond the Biblical creation story. Such things as fossils, primitive stone tools and visible layers in rock were said to have been placed on earth by God. There wasn't a great deal of work done on what we now call evolution, until the age of exploration began. Around that time people noticed that there were different types of humans in different parts of the world. There were several attempts to classify the various types of humans, but such classifications were generally extremely ethnocentric, and included ideas that have been proved incorrect. For a time people believed that creatures like Dr. Moreau's Beast People could and did exist in the world; explorers told fantastic tales of humans with the heads of dogs, or mermaids, or islands populated by only humans of only one gender. In the seventeenth century John Ray coined the term "species," but he believed that none of the species had changed since the day of creation. Linnaeus, who invented the system of binomial nomenclature used today to classify different species, was also a creationist.
Why have we humans put ourselves at a higher level than the rest of species? If we stand next to a chimpanzee we will notice evident external differences between us, if we compare our behaviors we will see clear distinctions as well, and if we compare our DNA we will find out that we are more related than we would have thought. If our DNA shows such a close resemblance, then what is it that makes us marks ourselves as “humans” and them as “animals?” We call ourselves “humans beings,” implying hierarchy, and instead call chimps “animals,” defining a lower level. Why have we drawn that line? Is it necessary?
According to these definitions, class is a sub-set of identity; identity being the container for all different kinds of sameness, class being the sameness relating specifically to economic or social status. An argument that they are the same might state that since one's economic/social status so completely limits or enables people in this society, that the overall identity of people is dictated by their class. It might further define the objective reality as the manifestation of a thing in light of its realistic limits and abilities. Take Robert for example. Who is Robert? What questions do we ask first? What is most important to us in forming our impression of him? In a multi-racial country like the United States, race might be one of the first. Physical appearances: hair color, weight, etc. We need a mental image. Once we know these things, certain assumptions are made. Many of these assumptions are silent, almost subconscious judgments based on superficial information. Robert is black. Oh. Where's he from? Detroit. Oh. Lots of assumptions here. His class is practically defined for us through popular stereotypes without mention of his economic position. Guess what, he's poor, lives in the projects with his single mother. Oh. So now, what do we know of Robert's identity? Well, nothing really. But in reality, we can guess a whole lot of real life things that directly affect his identity, define it, limit it. He probably doesn't do well in school. Not because he's stupid, but because he has a bad attitude, and who could blame him: the school he attends performs random searches of students. There are metal detectors and armed guards at every entrance and exit. To him, school is literally like a prison. And what prison really encourages thought in its inmates? No, just get them through. There's no money for thought. Perhaps Robert is in a gang. Sure, gang is a handy label, but he might have a group of friends, and many of them carry weapons. They have a local area in common and believe correctly that Detroit is a dangerous city.
In 1758 a Swedish botanist named Carolus Linnaeus established the classification system still in use for various forms of life. He listed four categories that he labeled as "varieties" of the human species. To each he attributed inherited biological as well as learned cultural characteristics. He described Homo European as light-skinned, blond, and governed by laws; Homo American was copper-colored and was regulated by customs; Homo Asiatic was sooty and dark-eyed and governed by opinions; Homo African was black and indolent and governed by impulse. We can in retrospect recognize the ethnocentric assumptions involved in these descriptions, which imply a descending order of prestige. Most striking is the labeling of the four varieties as governed by laws, customs, opinions, and impulse, with Europeans on the top and Africans at the bottom. In fact, different populations within all four varieties would have had all four forms of behavior. (8).
Since the beginning of time, social class and race have been paramount in society. Back in the time of caveman, roles and traditions were passed down based on gender. The man was responsible for protection and collecting food while women were responsible for cooking and keeping house. That belief has traversed time and slowly changes with each era. But throughout history, men and women have lived with preconceived notions of their duties to their families. These notions have been passed down generations and have affected how people live within their society. In the novel “Like Water for Chocolate”, social class is revered in the story of the De la Garza family. As we see through the personal journey of Tita, the main character, these distinctions are evident.
Humans are a stereotypical lifeform. Disregarding all backgrounds and cultures, humans are constantly categorizing others subconsciously and blatantly. Due to past experiences and social observations, I have come to the realization that there is a way in which humans are taught how different societies define differences among different people and this is way that varies from culture to culture.
Based on conceptual framework, its best defined as a tool used in research to plan possible approaches to an idea or thought. As our class used this tool to learn about how society evolves around race and ethnicity, we came across important things we tend to ignore. Also, it taught us to expand our mind about learning about our culture and our diversity. The important thing we learned in class is “race”, which is defined as how people are identified by other groups. What we tend to ignore is that it distracts us from seeing who that person may really be by personality. According to race, it can identify a person by physical characteristics or biological. This cause a process through which our world build racial categories in which people are classified is called racialization. The issue is that society use race to view people with similar biological traits or physical characteristics to assume that everyone is considered the same. We use racial categories to apply to people to identify what to label them as.
o In matters of “race” and “nationality”, in the way in which classifications work is especially apparent.
What is Race? Race is defined as a category, or a population of a species differing geographically, morphologically, or genetically from other populations of the same species. The differences between humans began a long time ago because humans lived in different parts of the world. Originally all humans belonged to one pure race. Most of todays’ people now have mixed racial ancestry. For example, some children in America come from an African American and Caucasian background. Race is somewhat not acceptable to humans because the division of humans into discrete types does not represent the true nature of human biological variation. In some societies race is an important social category. People from ancient societies would not separate people because of their physical differences, but by class, religion, language and even class. A trait or, gene, or characteristic can distinguish one’s race from another race. Scientist in Europe, have tried to classify Homo sapiens into categories, or race, based on where they live, physical features like body size, head shape, hair texture, and skin color.
Categorizing is a fundamental behavior people do daily to grasp an understanding of his or her surroundings. This includes other people one may come in contact with. By labeling or judging others, a person gains a better sense of that individual without actually getting to know them. The behavior has become so common in society today to the point that it happens naturally without one realizing it. However, this can be also be considered a bad habit, because labeling can also cause stereotypes and hostility towards others. By fully understanding why people label others, one may be more aware of his or her own thought process. Author Brenda J. Allen addresses this issue in her book, Difference Matters, so people can change their behavior of labeling
One of these is Social categorization. Based on the name it is very self explanatory, with the social categorization there is the need to divide, categorizing individuals into groups (in and out groups).
According to the paper presented, I believe that power is the most essential element for the human progress, since it’s about changing intentions to actions. In organization it’s about sharing information, about working together and running the company in the best interest of everyone. According to my learning, I believed that it changes nothing, no one can predict the result of a decision and we spend more time living with the consequence of our decision than making them. In turn we should focus on getting things done rather than thinking of the consequence.
THESIS: Scientists and other intellectuals recognize the modern concept of "race" as an artificial category that developed over the past five centuries due to encounters with non-European people. Even though people still attempt to organize humans into categories according to their race, these categories have been shown to have no scientific basis.
Gender roles and racial discrimination has changed in many ways throughout history as within recent societal representation. In the the early 1900s, woman wore skirts that brushed the floor, belted jackets, fancy dresses etc. In the early 1990s, women wore short dresses, heeled shoes, turtlenecks etc. In fact, every succeeding generation has brought with it different expectations for how races,women and men are viewed within society. Although, we may be more open to expectations than were past generations, there are still expected norms of behavior for women and men in society. For example,“gender roles” means society expects
The topic for discussion, “We are One Species”, is a very apt and befitting one. Species may be varied and different kinds of organisms. We, as people, may look different, we may live in a diverse World, we may speak different languages, we may come from different backgrounds, race, culture, or customs, still inherently and intrinsically, we are the same or belong to one species.