wfi@unc.UUCP (William F. Ingogly) (02/14/85)
Race is a convenient way of describing populations of the same species
that differ from other populations in the frequency of occurrence of
many gene alleles, but it is a fuzzy concept at best. How many alleles
are 'many?' Even the concept of species can be fuzzy at times: how do
you handle the willows, oaks, or hawthorns, whose species freely
interbreed with other species in the same genus? In the interest of
accuracy, I present the following definitions from "Genetics" by
Strickberger, eighth printing published by McMillan in 1971:
"...The concept of a species as an interbreeding group distinct
from other such groups arises in sexually reproducing organisms
from the fact that such groups exist in nature and are mutually
separated in many instances by "bridgeless gaps" across which
interbreeding does not occur..." (p. 799)
"...Among geneticists, a population is usually defined as a
community of sexually interbreeding or potentially interbreeding
individuals..." (p. 693)
"...In the main, populations of the same species that differ
markedly from each other have been characterized as 'races.'
[word races in italics in text] Races share the possibility
of participating in the gene pool of the entire species, although
they are sufficiently separated to exhibit individually unique
gene frequencies. The distinction between races is, therefore,
not absolute; races may differ in the relative frequency of a
particular gene but these differences do not prohibit gene
exchange...knowledge of a particular genotype alone is not by
itself sufficient to indicate to which race an individual
belongs. An individual of O blood type that is also a PTC taster
and secretor may, for example, belong to either...[the European
group or American Indian group] if our attention is confined
to only these genes. Facts such as these indicate the fictional
nature of concepts such as "pure" races. Members of a race are
not genetically "pure" in the sense of sharing a uniform
genetic identity nor does genetic uniformity even apply to
members of the same family..." (pp. 797-798)
Jews might be described as a population, if it's true that members of
the Jewish religion/culture tend to marry Jews rather than non-Jews
most of the time. But how much interbreeding occurs between Russian
Jews and American Jews (for example)? Might the Jewish people also be
seen as a set of subpopulations? As for the claim that Jews represent
a "biological race:" in what sense do the Jews differ markedly from
all other races? Can you tell me at how many genetic loci they differ
from (say) other European populations? From African or Asian
populations?
There's no excuse for an educated person using an emotionally loaded
term like 'race' if s/he has no idea what it means. Have you heard of
libraries? Last I heard, they were abundant and cheap.rlr@pyuxd.UUCP (Professor Wagstaff) (02/15/85)
> Newsgroups: net.religion.christian > Subject: Are Jews A Race? > Message-ID: <67@unc.UUCP> Interesting topic of discussion for a newsgroup that claims to be a sanctuary in which to discuss Christian issues in the absence of questioning voices... -- Otology recapitulates phonology. Rich Rosen {ihnp4|harpo}!pyuxd!rlr