Man's Most Dangerous Myth: The Fallacy of Race

by Ashley Montagu

DR. ASHLEY MONTAGU'S book possesses two great merits rarely found in current discussions of human problems. Where most writers over-simplify, he insists on the principle of multiple and interlocking causation. And where most assume that "facts will speak for themselves," he makes it clear that facts are mere ventriloquists' dummies, and can be made to justify any course of action that appeals to the socially conditioned passions of the individuals concerned. These two truths are sufficiently obvious; but they are seldom recognized, for the good reason that they are very depressing. To recognize the first truth is to recognize the fact that there are no panaceas and that therefore most of the golden promises made by political reformers and revolutionaries are illusory. And to recognize the truth that facts do not speak for themselves, but only as man's socially conditioned passions dictate, is to recognize that our current educational processes can do very little to ameliorate the state of the world. In the language of traditional theology (so much more realistic, in many respects, than the "liberal" philosophies which replaced it), most ignorance is voluntary and depends upon acts of the conscious or subconscious will. Thus, the fallacies underlying the propaganda of racial hatred are not recognized because, as Dr. Montagu points out, most people have a desire to act aggressively, and the members of other ethnic groups are convenient victims, whom one may attack with a good conscience. This desire to act aggressively has its origins in the largely unavoidable frustrations imposed upon the individual by the processes of early education and later adjustments to the social environment. Dr. Montagu might have added that aggressiveness pays a higher dividend in emotional satisfaction than does coöperation. Coöperation may produce a mild emotional glow; but the indulgence of aggressivness can be the equivalent of a drinking bout or sexual orgy. In our industrial societies, the goodness of life is measured in terms of the number and intensity of the excitements experienced. (Popular philosophy is moulded by, and finds expression in, the advertising pages of popular magazines. Significantly enough, the word that occurs more frequently in those pages than any other is "thrill.") Like sex and alcohol, aggressiveness can give enormous thrills. Under existing social conditions, it is therefore easy to represent aggressiveness as good. Concerning the remedies for the social diseases he has so penetratingly diagnosed, Dr. Montagu says very little, except that they will have to consist in some process of education. But what process? It is to be hoped that he will answer this question at length in another work. ALDOUS HUXLEY

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Sociology, Race, Anthropology, History, Philosophy

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Books, such as The Natural Superiority of Women (1953), of Ashley Montagu, originally Israel Ehrenberg, a British-American, helped to popularize anthropology.

As a young man, he changed his name to "Montague Francis Ashley-Montagu". After relocating to the United States, he used the name "Ashley Montagu."

This humanist of Jewish ancestry related topics, such as race and gender, to politics and development. He served as the rapporteur or appointed investigator in 1950 for the The Race Question , statement of educational, scientific, and cultural organization of United Nations.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashley_...

Reviews

[Jacob Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is dated now--before Krick and Watson and the molecular structure of DNA! But a sound refutation of the fallacy of "race." I read this more than 60 years ago--when I was 14 or 15; the civil rights movement was gaining steam. Montagu was an early, intellectual hero for me.

[Dan Mortimore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I skimmed the book, a fifth edition from 1974. Totally comprehensive, combining biology and genetics with the cultural and social, it's pretty impressive. Some political and historical context also backs up arguments and forms the basis of chapters, which is always good too.

Personally, I simply read for more information on the subject of 'race', but Montagu's arguments were convincing in refuting the very idea of racial difference itself. Particularly enlightening chapters: 4. the biological facts, 6. "Race" and Society, 12. "Race" and Culture. The Jewish and African American chapters were particularly candid in dealing with sensitive subjects, and the Appendices worth reading too.

Giving it five stars because I don't believe other reading on race would be necessary for the casual reader: it's all here. The book is well organised and the writing is top quality (though with some outdated terminology in the edition I was reading).

[Kandachamy Vijayakumaran · Rating 5 out of 5]

A significant book I read in recent times. Human societies from the beginning has created the myth of race to the advantage of the dominant group. The myth was demolished often with revelations of scientific research on various dimensions of race. You can find the fully armored demolition squad in this book. A must read for all who had dared to consider them, at least for a fleeting moment, superior to their fellow human beings.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Montagu shatters the notion that there are separate races. I read this book as a young adult many decades ago and it always stuck with me. Would like to read it again, especially this sixth edition.

[Mobrazeï · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gave me a good insight into what racism is and when it began

[Pippah Getchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Groundbreaking classic.

[Rebekah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Required college reading. I remember it being painfully boring but thorough and educational