Race, Culture, Identity: Misunderstood Connections - Essay Example

Appiah emphasizes that “American social distinctions cannot be understood in terms of the concept of race” (Appiah 102). America is a diverse nation; it is composed of different races, and no race should be superior over the other. America is known for its cultural multiplicity. That’s what describes it as a nation. Furthermore, Appiah believes that “the only human race in the United States, I shall argue, is the human race” (54). He believes that social divisions are merely beliefs that have been drawn from natural historical notion or causal theory.

This peculiarity requires a need for change and neutralization. Hence, the central point of this discussion shall focus on how Appiah’s claim on the existence of race would affect the way people think, act, speak and write by understanding the key points specified in Appiah’s article. Throughout recent history, social distinctions have become a common route of understanding in the world when it comes to considering social diversities. For one, notions about race have served to be the main divisive factor that created differences in the United States. . ing to establish a conjecture that specifies the consequences that Appiah’s claims would lead us to, it is important that we understand these arguments.

Appiah claims that “what we learn when we learn a word like “race” is a set of rules for applying the term” (57). Appiah believes that the real understanding of the word “race” is limited to those who are competent of the English language that while varying notions on race can be formed, special concepts of the word are then translated into criterial beliefs. Therefore, there is an intricate connection between the philosophy of language and the idea of race. According to Appiah, this ideational theory is encompassed by two thoughts: (1) strict criteria 1 theory; and the (2) vague criteria theory.

The strict criteria 1 theory forms the following criteria: a) race is based on the colour of your skin; b) race is based on the race of your parents. First, Appiah argues that race cannot be identified by simply looking at the colour of the skin. The identification of race based on colour is a flawed belief in that even variations in colour are collectively joined together in some applications. For instance, the United States Census Bureau does not classify “Latino” as a single race but, regardless of the range of colours they find themselves of having, the US Census Bureau classifies them as Hispanic; you do not find a racial classification that says “Strong Brown Hispanic” or “Light Brown Hispanic”, in other words, even colour is not recognized as indicative of race; also, if race is only based on the colour of the skin, it is quite obvious that black shades are not only endowed to African-Americans or Blacks.

Think about Ghanaians, Indians, or Tanzanians, they have skin colours that are relatively