Deck 95: Kwame Anthony Appiah: Racisms

Question 1

Kwame Anthony Appiah is a British-born Ghanaian-American philosopher and author. His books include Color Conscious: The Political Morality of Race, Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers, and the introduction to philosophy Thinking It Through. He examines the concepts of race and racism and the popular presuppositions that underlie them. He distinguishes between racialism ("that there are heritable characteristics, possessed by members of our species, that allow us to divide them into a small set of races") and racism ("which presupposes racialism"). Racialism is false and not inherently dangerous. But racism, which comes in two main forms, is harmful. One form, called extrinsic racism, might be successfully countered by presenting the extrinsic racist with relevant counterevidence. The other, intrinsic racism, cannot be undone by showing the intrinsic racist any opposing evidence.
-According to Appiah, much of what we say about the concept of racism is

A) logical.
B) inconsistent.
C) accurate.
D) thoughtful.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Kwame Anthony Appiah is a British-born Ghanaian-American philosopher and author. His books include Color Conscious: The Political Morality of Race, Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers, and the introduction to philosophy Thinking It Through. He examines the concepts of race and racism and the popular presuppositions that underlie them. He distinguishes between racialism ("that there are heritable characteristics, possessed by members of our species, that allow us to divide them into a small set of races") and racism ("which presupposes racialism"). Racialism is false and not inherently dangerous. But racism, which comes in two main forms, is harmful. One form, called extrinsic racism, might be successfully countered by presenting the extrinsic racist with relevant counterevidence. The other, intrinsic racism, cannot be undone by showing the intrinsic racist any opposing evidence.
-Appiah says that racialism is

A) inherently dangerous.
B) true but dangerous.
C) false but not inherently dangerous.
D) sometimes false.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Kwame Anthony Appiah is a British-born Ghanaian-American philosopher and author. His books include Color Conscious: The Political Morality of Race, Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers, and the introduction to philosophy Thinking It Through. He examines the concepts of race and racism and the popular presuppositions that underlie them. He distinguishes between racialism ("that there are heritable characteristics, possessed by members of our species, that allow us to divide them into a small set of races") and racism ("which presupposes racialism"). Racialism is false and not inherently dangerous. But racism, which comes in two main forms, is harmful. One form, called extrinsic racism, might be successfully countered by presenting the extrinsic racist with relevant counterevidence. The other, intrinsic racism, cannot be undone by showing the intrinsic racist any opposing evidence.
-Appiah says the extrinsic racist believes that racial essence entails

A) no morally relevant qualities.
B) the inherent inferiority of blacks.
C) the inherent superiority of Europeans.
D) certain morally relevant qualities.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Kwame Anthony Appiah is a British-born Ghanaian-American philosopher and author. His books include Color Conscious: The Political Morality of Race, Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers, and the introduction to philosophy Thinking It Through. He examines the concepts of race and racism and the popular presuppositions that underlie them. He distinguishes between racialism ("that there are heritable characteristics, possessed by members of our species, that allow us to divide them into a small set of races") and racism ("which presupposes racialism"). Racialism is false and not inherently dangerous. But racism, which comes in two main forms, is harmful. One form, called extrinsic racism, might be successfully countered by presenting the extrinsic racist with relevant counterevidence. The other, intrinsic racism, cannot be undone by showing the intrinsic racist any opposing evidence.
-Appiah maintains that for the intrinsic racist, no amount of evidence can undermine his

A) racism.
B) self-confidence.
C) hate.
D) respect for others.

Question 5

Kwame Anthony Appiah is a British-born Ghanaian-American philosopher and author. His books include Color Conscious: The Political Morality of Race, Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers, and the introduction to philosophy Thinking It Through. He examines the concepts of race and racism and the popular presuppositions that underlie them. He distinguishes between racialism ("that there are heritable characteristics, possessed by members of our species, that allow us to divide them into a small set of races") and racism ("which presupposes racialism"). Racialism is false and not inherently dangerous. But racism, which comes in two main forms, is harmful. One form, called extrinsic racism, might be successfully countered by presenting the extrinsic racist with relevant counterevidence. The other, intrinsic racism, cannot be undone by showing the intrinsic racist any opposing evidence.
-Some people who deserve the label of "racist" seem to suffer from a kind of cognitive incapacity.

Question 6

Kwame Anthony Appiah is a British-born Ghanaian-American philosopher and author. His books include Color Conscious: The Political Morality of Race, Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers, and the introduction to philosophy Thinking It Through. He examines the concepts of race and racism and the popular presuppositions that underlie them. He distinguishes between racialism ("that there are heritable characteristics, possessed by members of our species, that allow us to divide them into a small set of races") and racism ("which presupposes racialism"). Racialism is false and not inherently dangerous. But racism, which comes in two main forms, is harmful. One form, called extrinsic racism, might be successfully countered by presenting the extrinsic racist with relevant counterevidence. The other, intrinsic racism, cannot be undone by showing the intrinsic racist any opposing evidence.
-Appiah points out that an inability to change your mind in the face of appropriate evidence is a cognitive incapacity, but it is one that all of us surely suffer from in some areas of belief.

Question 7

Kwame Anthony Appiah is a British-born Ghanaian-American philosopher and author. His books include Color Conscious: The Political Morality of Race, Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers, and the introduction to philosophy Thinking It Through. He examines the concepts of race and racism and the popular presuppositions that underlie them. He distinguishes between racialism ("that there are heritable characteristics, possessed by members of our species, that allow us to divide them into a small set of races") and racism ("which presupposes racialism"). Racialism is false and not inherently dangerous. But racism, which comes in two main forms, is harmful. One form, called extrinsic racism, might be successfully countered by presenting the extrinsic racist with relevant counterevidence. The other, intrinsic racism, cannot be undone by showing the intrinsic racist any opposing evidence.
-In Appiah's view, intrinsic racism is a moral error.

Question 8

Kwame Anthony Appiah is a British-born Ghanaian-American philosopher and author. His books include Color Conscious: The Political Morality of Race, Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers, and the introduction to philosophy Thinking It Through. He examines the concepts of race and racism and the popular presuppositions that underlie them. He distinguishes between racialism ("that there are heritable characteristics, possessed by members of our species, that allow us to divide them into a small set of races") and racism ("which presupposes racialism"). Racialism is false and not inherently dangerous. But racism, which comes in two main forms, is harmful. One form, called extrinsic racism, might be successfully countered by presenting the extrinsic racist with relevant counterevidence. The other, intrinsic racism, cannot be undone by showing the intrinsic racist any opposing evidence.
-Intrinsic racism does not require any arbitrary distinctions.

Question 9

Kwame Anthony Appiah is a British-born Ghanaian-American philosopher and author. His books include Color Conscious: The Political Morality of Race, Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers, and the introduction to philosophy Thinking It Through. He examines the concepts of race and racism and the popular presuppositions that underlie them. He distinguishes between racialism ("that there are heritable characteristics, possessed by members of our species, that allow us to divide them into a small set of races") and racism ("which presupposes racialism"). Racialism is false and not inherently dangerous. But racism, which comes in two main forms, is harmful. One form, called extrinsic racism, might be successfully countered by presenting the extrinsic racist with relevant counterevidence. The other, intrinsic racism, cannot be undone by showing the intrinsic racist any opposing evidence.
-Appiah contends that intrinsic racism is mistaken because it violates the basic moral principle of making moral distinctions only on morally relevant grounds.

Question 10

Kwame Anthony Appiah is a British-born Ghanaian-American philosopher and author. His books include Color Conscious: The Political Morality of Race, Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers, and the introduction to philosophy Thinking It Through. He examines the concepts of race and racism and the popular presuppositions that underlie them. He distinguishes between racialism ("that there are heritable characteristics, possessed by members of our species, that allow us to divide them into a small set of races") and racism ("which presupposes racialism"). Racialism is false and not inherently dangerous. But racism, which comes in two main forms, is harmful. One form, called extrinsic racism, might be successfully countered by presenting the extrinsic racist with relevant counterevidence. The other, intrinsic racism, cannot be undone by showing the intrinsic racist any opposing evidence.
-According to Appiah, an inability to change our minds in the face of appropriate evidence is a tendency that we are powerless to resist.

Question 11

Kwame Anthony Appiah is a British-born Ghanaian-American philosopher and author. His books include Color Conscious: The Political Morality of Race, Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers, and the introduction to philosophy Thinking It Through. He examines the concepts of race and racism and the popular presuppositions that underlie them. He distinguishes between racialism ("that there are heritable characteristics, possessed by members of our species, that allow us to divide them into a small set of races") and racism ("which presupposes racialism"). Racialism is false and not inherently dangerous. But racism, which comes in two main forms, is harmful. One form, called extrinsic racism, might be successfully countered by presenting the extrinsic racist with relevant counterevidence. The other, intrinsic racism, cannot be undone by showing the intrinsic racist any opposing evidence.
-Appiah believes that "racial prejudice" is a deformation of rationality in judgment.