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Originally Posted by DrPhil
The way people look and anything that identifies a group as "the other."
The other part of our conceptualization of racism is that people aren't discriminating against others because they have nothing better to do with their time. It is about a sense of group threat. So as far as we're concerned it isn't about the pathology of the individual.
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I said "the other" because I decided not to use the scientific term called "phenotype"--it is the way the genetics looks and how it is inherited. Some phenotypes are dictated by genotype, some are dictated by epigentics--I would say more than we, scientists, once thought. There are also levels of regulation from microRNA content to mutated proteins.
All of that to say, we know some basics about how people have their phenotypes. But the whole story is far from complete.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DrPhil
Correct but I find your assertions very interesting.
So do you posit that only people with the neuropsychological pathology display behaviors that reinforce this structure? So this is all just about racists with certain upbringings and who have these traits? And if science can ever get to the bottom of their "disorders," this racist structure will collapse?
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So, in my professional opinion, behavior is reinforced. When behavior is negatively reinforced, a hierarchical structure can develop. But that is not understood from a molecular genetic level because of the stochastic nature of this kinds of structure. All behavioral genetics can do is an arbitrary empirical analysis--tweak this neuron, get this effect.
When you say "racists", I think you are viewing this issue as a current event. I am positing that racism evolved from a pathological condition. I.e. What would be the biological reason why racism would evolve in the level that it has over time? What purpose does it serve, biologically? Control of populations? Religion aside, it must be giving those who manifest it some kind of "rationalization" as to why they do it? Otherwise, why would someone choose to pursue this route to this structure--no matter the destruction it causes?
After study of substance abuse and addiction, racist behavior is extremely similar to a combination of schizo-affective disorders with substance abuse and addiction...
It is called aversion and reward...
Only negative environments bring about fulmination of racism--or bigotry, overall.
PTSD is thought to be reinforced by traumatic events--the human brain is incapable of processing the imagery after the event, so what it does is segregate the bad image into bottom "unused" parts of the mind (or at least that what the research is suggesting), and during a subconscious periods--i.e. sleep--the thoughts re-arise and ruminate. These anxious thoughts cause a physical manifestation of panic, increased heart rates, sweatiness, and fainting. Without relief, people get major clinical depression leading to suicidal thoughts.
To bake your noodle more, apparently depending on the circumstance, PTSD can be inherited and given to resulting children...
It is possible that "extreme hatred" with "gross anger" evolved in humans as a discriminatory survival tactic maybe for foodstuffs during starvation, or protection from illnesses, IDK. And a whole hierarchical structure was "rationalized" and developed to justify a bad thought disordered behavior. Otherwise, how come humans will kill large swaths of people, like in genocide? As lame as it sounds, humans did that because of poor environments due to a lack of resources and that's the default system humans use when a "morality" comes into play... That does not make it right--this is not a judgment statement--it is that carnal nature that humans manifest...
Just like when we see lions hunt the wildebeests--the lions do not love or hate them, they just have to eat. The wildebeets know that one is going to die, which one is a different issue... Same deal with the great white sharks and the seals... Maybe racism as a behavior gives the predatory nature humans have?
Only difference is today, humans can make a choice to hopefully evolve.
If the underlying manifestation is discovered in bigoted people, believe me it will be within 5 years a drug clinical trial with therapeutics will be in place...
Think what Chantix does...
Dr. AKA_Monet
Hybrid Mode
