Functional Explanation Again

[Justin Schwartz]

Not so, Carrol. The claim is indeed explanatory because it excludes the 
"imposition" theory, that racism is fabricated by the upper classes and 
imposed on the lower ones for the benefit of the former. It would be more 
explnatory to say which deep human needs, but I have referred us to Winthrop 
Jordan for a good account of which ones and how in the case of anti-black 
racism by whites. However a claim needn't be maximally or fully expalantory 
to be explanatory. I can say, Your car won't work because the motor's busted 
(a vague explanation); that at least excludes explanations like: It's 
because you're trying to run on empty. --jks


>
>
>Justin Schwartz wrote:
> >
> > The origins of racism are probably like the origins of religion; 
>deriving
> > from deep human needs and (in the case of racism) pathologies that arise
> > from people's life situations.
>
>One of the conditions of racism is, tautologically, generically human
>tendencies. But as many, including Karl Marx and Kenneth Burke, have
>emphasized, a _tendency_ to X is _also_ a tendency _away_ from X. "Deep
>Human Needs" (DHNs), like Providence, explains nothing because it
>explains everything.
>
>Carrol

_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com