Viewpoints and Methods in the Study of Race Relations

Abstract

The methods that have been used in the study of race relations have been determined in part by prevailing theories of points of view. At least five such points of view have existed. The naively ethnocentric viewpoint of the ancient Greeks implied practically no study of race or race relations, and the same was true of the religio-ethical viewpoint which prevailed in the Middle Ages. From the time of Linnaeus, the taxonomic viewpoint became prominent and gave rise first to efforts at the classification of races and then to the measurement of race differences. Within recent decades, there has been a trend toward a cultural point of view, and the corresponding method has been one of search for cultural facts. Most recently of all a distinctively sociological viewpoint has developed. It gives rise to methods of study which focus attention on race relations and interracial attitudes.