• NotASharkInAManSuit@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    3 days ago

    No.

    A couple researchers suggesting a literary review of the specific usage of a word and how it is used in specific contexts within scientific literature is a far cry from the idea that scientists in general are claiming that the word caucasian is a generally racist word.

    • planish@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      3 days ago

      I don’t know that scientists in general (from chemists to seismologists) know it, but the people who study what scientists ought to call groups of people seem to have reached consensus.

        • planish@sh.itjust.works
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          1 day ago

          Oh I see, maybe this is saying more that people should abandon the term, not that they have already abandoned the term. I might be filling in the bit where people actually notice that they should indeed abandon the term and do so, which might not actually be happening.

          If you look at this article for example I think it supports your view: people often in practice continue using the term even though it has been discovered by some experts to be incorrect. That’s not what a broad consensus in science and medicine overall would look like.

          I guess I think the people providing evidence that the term should not be used are in fact correct. I haven’t seen a lot of support for the opposing view, so I think there is consensus among the people who professionally consider questions of terminology around race and ethnicity. None of the articles citing the first article I posted seem to be along the lines of “no we should keep it actually”. So my view is that the field consists of people who know better and people who haven’t bothered to think about the question, and the people who know better are probably right.