--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: discrimination had to be justified by…" description: "\"“discrimination had to be justified by “scientific” evidence showing that human nature differs according to age, gender, and “race.” Until the 1700s, t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3df/phyllis-goldstein-7858_discrimination_discrimination-had-to-be-justified-by-sc_3008144.jpg" --- # discrimination had to be justified by “scientific”… ![“discrimination had to be justified by “scientific” evidence showing that human nature differs according to age, gender, and “race.” Until the 1700s, the word race was widely used to refer to a people, a tribe, or a nation. By the end of the century, however, it described a distinct group of human…” quote by Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3df/phyllis-goldstein-7858_discrimination_discrimination-had-to-be-justified-by-sc_3008144.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3df/phyllis-goldstein-7858_discrimination_discrimination-had-to-be-justified-by-sc_3008144.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3df/phyllis-goldstein-7858_discrimination_discrimination-had-to-be-justified-by-sc_3008144.jpg) > ““discrimination had to be justified by “scientific” evidence showing that human nature differs according to age, gender, and “race.” Until the 1700s, the word race was widely used to refer to a people, a tribe, or a nation. By the end of the century, however, it described a distinct group of human beings with inherited physical traits and moral qualities that set them apart from other “races.” The beginnings of that notion can also be detected in Mendelssohn’s story. MENDELSSOHN AND THE ENLIGHTENMENT”” [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It outlines how scientific racism emerged, linking race to immutable traits, and how this view was constructed historically, influencing discrimination. **In simple terms:** Science was misused to justify racial differences. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about biological race. Themes racism science history identity ethics Mood critical analytical inquisitive Type academic historical When to use this quote - policy making - education - media representation - public health - legal frameworks Key Concepts sociology anthropology critical theory Questions to Reflect On - What evidence challenges biological race? - How does language shape bias? A Different Perspective Scientific claims can be biased by cultural context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discrimination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discrimination/) [Discrimination Justified](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discrimination-justified-4809589/) [Gender Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gender-race-350135/) [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [We all ought to be equal and not see discrimination based on gender, race, or sexual orientation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niki-ashton/we-all-ought-to-be-equal-and-not-see-discrimination-based-on-gender/) [Niki Ashton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niki-ashton/) > [Nothing better protects a human being against the stupidity of prejudice, racism, religious or political sectarianism, and exclusivist nationalism than this truth that invariably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/nothing-better-protects-a-human-being-against-the-stupidity-of/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [When it comes to explaining human thought and behavior, the possibility that heredity plays any role at all still has the power to shock.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/when-it-comes-to-explaining-human-thought-and-behavior-the/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [As far as the adjectives that I lead with, I think a writer and a comedienne are first. I have never qualified my experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-rothwell/as-far-as-the-adjectives-that-i-lead-with-i-think-a-writer-and-a/) [Natasha Rothwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-rothwell/) > [As a woman of color, I've come to rely on straight white men telling me my experience of the world has nothing to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-cooper/as-a-woman-of-color-i-ve-come-to-rely-on-straight-white-men-telling/) [Sarah Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-cooper/) > [I think it's important to see the parallels, and to understand that our masculine and feminine roles are relatively new in human history. Both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-think-it-s-important-to-see-the-parallels-and-to-understand-that/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I dont see things with gender, race and culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rad-hourani/i-dont-see-things-with-gender-race-and-culture/) [Rad Hourani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rad-hourani/) > [NASA didn't give a crap what gender you were or what race you were. If you could do the math, you were valuable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-melfi/nasa-didn-t-give-a-crap-what-gender-you-were-or-what-race-you-were-if/) [Theodore Melfi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-melfi/) > [When I speak of divisions greater than gender or race, I say that because it is so unimaginable. I can imagine what it would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stout/when-i-speak-of-divisions-greater-than-gender-or-race-i-say-that/) [Martha Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stout/) > [Do not ghettoize society by putting people into legal categories of gender, race, ethnicity, language, or other such characteristics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/preston-manning/do-not-ghettoize-society-by-putting-people-into-legal-categories-of/) [Preston Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/preston-manning/) > [Various people of both gender and race do whatever they can to be equal, though everybody's traits are variously different; if we wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/various-people-of-both-gender-and-race-do-whatever-they-can-to-be/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [One person can make a difference. Gender, race not sexual Orientation need not matter. Everyone has the power to nourish their future for themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-tubman/one-person-can-make-a-difference-gender-race-not-sexual-orientation/) [Harriet Tubman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-tubman/) > [“It's only in the finer points that it gets complicated and contentious, the inability to realize that no matter what our religion or gender…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/it-s-only-in-the-finer-points-that-it-gets-complicated-and/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [A core plank of left-wing academic thought is that gender and race are 'socially constructed.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-mac-donald/a-core-plank-of-left-wing-academic-thought-is-that-gender-and-race/) [Heather Mac Donald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-mac-donald/) > [I bring the experiences of women. As a daughter, as a mother, as a wife, as a sister. That is who I am. Those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-bring-the-experiences-of-women-as-a-daughter-as-a-mother-as-a-wife/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) ## More by Phyllis Goldstein > [“As accusations spread, so did the false belief that Jews routinely engaged in the practice of ritual murder. An accusation made repeatedly tends to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-goldstein/as-accusations-spread-so-did-the-false-belief-that-jews-routinely/) [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) > [“Still, by the end of the thirteenth century, most European Jews were forced to wear badges or distinguishing clothing. The aim was to humiliate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-goldstein/still-by-the-end-of-the-thirteenth-century-most-european-jews-were/) [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) > [“Mendelssohn’s books on philosophy and literature were hailed throughout Europe. He was described as “exceptional”—an “un-Jewish Jew,” one of a kind, a genius.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-goldstein/mendelssohn-s-books-on-philosophy-and-literature-were-hailed/) [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) > [“135 years later, in 586 BCE, the Babylonians conquered Judea, the southern kingdom. They destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem and forced thousands of Jews…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-goldstein/135-years-later-in-586-bce-the-babylonians-conquered-judea-the/) [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) > [“In Arab nations, many people opposed Zionism because they believed that the UN had no right to establish a Jewish state on what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-goldstein/in-arab-nations-many-people-opposed-zionism-because-they-believed/) [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) > [“After the Black Death in the mid-1300s, the persecution of Jews intensified, and many Jews in Europe moved farther east. Some left because life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-goldstein/after-the-black-death-in-the-mid-1300s-the-persecution-of-jews/) [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) > [“Many Jews in the Byzantine Empire welcomed the Persians. Some saw their arrival as an opportunity to win independence or even just a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-goldstein/many-jews-in-the-byzantine-empire-welcomed-the-persians-some-saw/) [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) > [“In 1255, a five-year-old boy was found dead in a well in Lincoln, England. Many historians today believe that young Hugh accidentally fell into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-goldstein/in-1255-a-five-year-old-boy-was-found-dead-in-a-well-in-lincoln/) [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) > [“The Greeks and Egyptians in Alexandria understood Flaccus’s announcement to mean that they could now treat Jews as they pleased. After all, people without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-goldstein/the-greeks-and-egyptians-in-alexandria-understood-flaccus-s/) [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) > [“For hundreds of years, Christians had been trying to convert the Jews, and now, for the first time, they had real success. Suddenly thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-goldstein/for-hundreds-of-years-christians-had-been-trying-to-convert-the-jews/) [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) > [“With each new rumor, each new accusation, the way Christians thought about Jews became more and more distorted. Jews were increasingly seen as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-goldstein/with-each-new-rumor-each-new-accusation-the-way-christians-thought/) [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) > [“The “age of enlightenment” ended some of the isolation, discrimination, and humiliation Jews had experienced in earlier times in Europe. Jews now had more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-goldstein/the-age-of-enlightenment-ended-some-of-the-isolation-discrimination/) [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) > [“When one group defeated another, the newly conquered people were expected to accept the gods of the victor. After all, the new gods had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-goldstein/when-one-group-defeated-another-the-newly-conquered-people-were/) [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) > [“Antisemitism did not begin in Germany, or anywhere else, in 1918; Jews had been regarded as dangerous outsiders for centuries, and anti-Jewish feeling usually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-goldstein/antisemitism-did-not-begin-in-germany-or-anywhere-else-in-1918-jews/) [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) > [“I first heard of antisemitism only later, when my father told me how Oswald Mosley had fomented riots in the thirties by marching his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-goldstein/i-first-heard-of-antisemitism-only-later-when-my-father-told-me-how/) [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) [Explore all 86 Phyllis Goldstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) ## More Discrimination quotes > [There could be no more powerful argument against mixing religion and government than the success of independent African American churches in placing racial segregation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/there-could-be-no-more-powerful-argument-against-mixing-religion-and/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [Jesus never said a word about homosexuality. In all of his teachings about multiple things - he never said that gay people should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/jesus-never-said-a-word-about-homosexuality-in-all-of-his-teachings/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [In a general way, the literature of the twentieth century is essentially psychological; and psychology consists of describing states of the soul by displaying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/in-a-general-way-the-literature-of-the-twentieth-century-is/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [“Mental illness is not something you misunderstand in this era. Get educated because bias is no different than racism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/mental-illness-is-not-something-you-misunderstand-in-this-era-get/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [I believe that those who promote discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or any other grounds are gravely mistaken about the values that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-clinton/i-believe-that-those-who-promote-discrimination-on-the-basis-of/) [Bill Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-clinton/) > [Each Act of Parliament intended to address harassment and discrimination has faced objections on the basis of 'you'll never be able to prove...' and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-field/each-act-of-parliament-intended-to-address-harassment-and/) [Tim Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-field/) > [Nothing better protects a human being against the stupidity of prejudice, racism, religious or political sectarianism, and exclusivist nationalism than this truth that invariably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/nothing-better-protects-a-human-being-against-the-stupidity-of/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [It is obvious that discrimination exists. Women do not have the opportunities that men do. And women that do not conform to the system,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-chisholm/it-is-obvious-that-discrimination-exists-women-do-not-have-the/) [Shirley Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-chisholm/) > [The fact is that in too many parts of our country, we still have discrimination. And affirmative action is not just something that applies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/the-fact-is-that-in-too-many-parts-of-our-country-we-still-have/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [Judging someone by the color of their skin is ignorant. Their skin complexion has nothing to do with their morals, beliefs or intelligence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/judging-someone-by-the-color-of-their-skin-is-ignorant-their-skin/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We try to take a very strong stance against discrimination and hatred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-blecharczyk/we-try-to-take-a-very-strong-stance-against-discrimination-and-hatred/) [Nathan Blecharczyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-blecharczyk/) > [I resolutely believe that respect for diversity is a fundamental pillar in the eradication of racism, xenophobia and intolerance. There is no excuse for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rigoberta-menchu/i-resolutely-believe-that-respect-for-diversity-is-a-fundamental/) [Rigoberta Menchu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rigoberta-menchu/) > [End discrimination and hate everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candy/end-discrimination-and-hate-everyone/) [Candy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candy/) > [This bill would allow an employee to bring a claim against an employer decades after the alleged initial act of discrimination occurred. Trial lawyers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-mckeon/this-bill-would-allow-an-employee-to-bring-a-claim-against-an/) [Buck McKeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-mckeon/) > [Legal discrimination between the sexes is, in almost every instance, founded on outmoded views of society and the pre-scientific beliefs about psychology and physiology.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-chisholm/legal-discrimination-between-the-sexes-is-in-almost-every-instance/) [Shirley Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-chisholm/) [Browse all 1,366 Discrimination quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discrimination/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“discrimination had to be justified by “scientific” evidence showing that human nature differs according to age, gender, and “race.” Until the 1700s, the word race was widely used to refer to a people, a tribe, or a nation. 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