任何反映種族觀念的行動、習性或信仰，這樣的意識形態，相信人類可以區分為隔離且互斥的生物實體，他們稱為「種族」並認為人格、智力、道德和文化都與遺傳性的體質特質有因果關聯，因此認定某些種族天生就優於其他種族。對於北美奴隸黑人的制度、西歐人跨海擴張殖民地和打造帝國的時代，種族主義正是其核心思想，並在18世紀達到高峰。在美國南方，種族觀念被創造出來誇大人群的差異：一種人是歐洲裔的美國人，另一種人則是祖先被迫帶到美國為奴的非洲裔後代。主張奴隸制度的人，透過把非洲人及其子孫貶低為較次等人種，為這種剝削制度找到正當化理由；但另一方面，他們卻同時把美國描寫成充滿自由、人權、民主、機會、平等的堡壘與殿堂。這種奴隸制度和人權思想的矛盾，在人類自由和尊嚴的哲學之下，似乎必須將那些奴隸的人性去除不管。到了19世紀，種族主義更加成熟並且散佈到全世界。源自我族中心主義（ethnocentrism）的種族主義，以體質來區分差異，並認為這些人群間的差異是不可改變的。雖然族群認同（Ethnic identity）被認為是後天得來的、族群特質是習得的行為形式，但相反的，種族則被認為是天生而且不可改變的認同形式。到了20世紀後半葉，世界上很多衝突被解釋為種族的紛爭，但其實衝突的根源只是長期以來許多人類社會的族群敵意（例如阿拉伯人與猶太人；英格蘭人與愛爾蘭人）。種族主義表露了人群分裂的最深刻形式，並意指不同團體之間的差異大到無法跨越。亦請參閱ethnic group、sociocultural evolution。
racism
Any action, practice, or belief that reflects the racial worldview—the ideology that humans are divided into separate and exclusive biological entities called “races,” that there is a causal link between inherited physical traits and traits of personality, intellect, morality, and other cultural behavioral features, and that some races are innately superior to others. Racism was at the heart of North American slavery and the colonization and empire-building activities of some Western Europeans overseas, especially in the 18th century. The idea of race was invented to magnify the differences between people of European origin in the United States and those of African descent whose ancestors had been brought against their will to function as slaves in the American South. By projecting Africans and their descendants as lesser human beings, the proponents of slavery attempted to justify and maintain this system of exploitation while at the same time portraying the United States as a bastion and champion of human freedom, with human rights, democratic institutions, unlimited opportunities, and equality. The contradiction between slavery and the ideology of human equality, accompanying a philosophy of human freedom and dignity, seemed to demand the dehumanization of those enslaved. By the 19th century, racism had matured and the idea spread around the world. Racism differs from ethnocentrism in that it is linked to physical and therefore immutable differences among people. Ethnic identity is acquired, and ethnic features are learned forms of behavior. Race, on the other hand, is a form of identity that is perceived as innate and unalterable. In the last half of the 20th century many conflicts around the world were interpreted in racial terms even though their origins were in the ethnic hostilities that have long characterized many human societies (e.g., Arabs and Jews, English and Irish). Racism reflects an acceptance of the deepest forms and degrees of divisiveness and carries the implication that differences among groups are so great that they cannot be transcended. See also ethnic group, sociocultural evolution.
生活百科站
