Man’s Most Dangerous Myth: The Fallacy of Race

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Man’s Most Dangerous Myth: The Fallacy of Race is a landmark 1942 book by anthropologist Ashley Montagu that argues race is a social myth rather than a biological reality and critiques racism using scientific evidence.


Statements (46)
Predicate Object
instanceOf anthropology book
book
non-fiction book
addresses moral implications of racism
social consequences of racial thinking
aim to critique racism using scientific evidence
to refute the biological concept of race
arguesAgainst biological determinism
the existence of discrete human races
author Ashley Montagu
countryOfOrigin United States
critiques eugenics
racial classification systems
scientific racism
discipline anthropology
genre anthropology
social science
hasEdition revised editions published after 1942
impact contributed to the delegitimization of scientific racism
influenced postwar discussions on race and racism
influencedBy Boasian anthropology
Franz Boas NERFINISHED
language English
mainSubject human variation
race
racism
social construction of race
notableFor being an early comprehensive critique of race as a biological category
popularizing the idea that race is a social construct
positionOnHumanity all humans belong to a single species with continuous variation
positionOnRace race is an invalid biological concept
racial categories are historically and socially constructed
publicationYear 1942
relatedTo UNESCO statements on race
supports the idea that cultural and environmental factors explain human differences
the view that humanity is a single species
targetAudience general educated readers
students of anthropology and social sciences
thesis biological evidence does not support the concept of distinct human races
race is a social myth rather than a biological reality
racism is based on pseudoscientific assumptions
timePeriodAddressed early 20th century racial theories
usesEvidenceFrom biology
genetics
physical anthropology
social science

Referenced by (1)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Ashley Montagu
notableWork

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