Genes create culture. Natual selection determines those that thrive and those that don't. How big of a brain do you did you need to slit the throats of the tribe "next door" and steal their women and food??
There is definitely a bit of C&E to this. For example, IQ is an easy attribute to raise, particularly amongst the young. Edit: and more to your point, consider selective breeding.
Yes, but killing that tribe is only a temporary solution. Soon you will be hungry and in need of women again... I'm not sure that succes in pure "dog eat dog" brutality shows a higher level of intelligence. Eventually another tribe will get you...
Ask any doctor if race-specific diseases like sickle-cell and tay-sachs are merely a 'social construct'. Obviously, there must be a significant biological element at play.
True enough... I don't agree with the "social construct" argument because it ignores a great deal of empirical evidence. I found the exact problem with the arguments Wells was making in his documentary. To sum it up it went something like this: "All these people are really different but they are the same because that's what being different means!". From my point of view the social construct argument is PC motivated.
No one these days believes in the social-construct-only concept. Race is both. The one is an important component of disease, as Rearden's example shows. The other is an important component of behavior, in other words, social interaction.
Generally the media has more or less taken it upon themselves to promote "social construct". Whenever, there is an issue regarding race you can be sure that somewhere along the way someone will mention that race doesn't exist. Supposedly it is something that we are all imagining due to our upbringing.
That aspect is emphasized because it is the social perspective that has the most bearing on the news. In a disease journal addressing sickle-cell, you may rarely hear the social aspect mentioned, while in an infant mortality journal you may rarely hear sickle-cell mentioned. "The difference that makes a difference".
The issue most related with race is usually "racism". The media seems to think that brainwashing is the answer to this problem. As such, their solution goes something like this... - a minority commits a crime (or does something undesirable)... - anger at minority - media solution... "Hey lynch mob it is all in your head. This person really isn't really racially different." ...but surely there are other ways to deal with racism...!?