Skin Color In John Kant's Determinatio In Douglas

It is disturbing and hauntingly sad that educated scholars felt the need to elevate themselves by purporting that due to a person’s skin color there are biological differences that make people of color lack intellect and justify slavery and racism. In the readings assigned Hume makes claims (which are false) that Africans had no civilized nations, no art, science or manufacture. He further spouts, “…[they] are incapable of all the higher attainments of the human mind”. Kant, who follows Hume’s beliefs, at one point blatantly equates the dark skin of a man to be, “clear proof that what he said was stupid”. In addition to that he argues “the savages” only have trivial feelings, that the difference in intellect (between whites and blacks) is as different as their skin color, and that only whites have perfection. Jefferson is an interesting mix of contradictions in his writings. He seems to share the other author’s ideas, that blacks are inferior to whites, although he makes mention that this could be somewhat through circumstance. He advocates that the only way to free blacks is to remove them, anything else would lead to …show more content…
He could not know yet what many anthropologists and scientist now agree on; there is only one race, the human race. He crafts an excellent argument, people making judgement about physical characteristics of negroes, “…just as if there were no white people with precisely the same peculiarities”. He further describes that how someone uses their body (their work) and the climate where they live influences their features. He speaks on skin color variations and hair texture dependent on climatic condition even within a tribe split between altitudes. However, it is his resounding words that human rights should be supported for all mankind that ring truest. We are one human family and every person that ever was or will be wants the same things liberty and