Racism has layers of meaning. I'm using racism in the original, scientific racist sense as a belief that humans are divided into different species or sub species. Look up the etymology of 'race', you will find it was once synonymous with terms species and breed. What you call specieism is what I am calling racism.
As far as I am aware race meant to be people of a common ancestry. Depending upon with whom you start such a lineage it will include more or less people with more or less similar attributes.
What makes it confusing is that it has both biological and cultural meanings. If you can form clusters of individuals showing certain attributes within one species that could be called a race. If the members of the races can produce fertile offspring with each other they belong to a species. There can be more or less meaningful differences between various races. The social problem arises when these differences are 1) Overstated or 2)Connected to a moral value. The combination of 1 and 2 tends to lead to acts of severe violence. Ascribing moral value to some attribute or concept often leads to "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" scenarios, as my countries history (germany) vividly shows. Taking biological concepts and ascribing moral ideals to them is dangerous.
Last edited by ArmouredHedgehog; 05/08/2104:31 PM.
I sometimes use thought experiments. I don't necessarily believe in every idea I post for discussion on this forum
