--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Genealogical Science is a wonderful…" description: "\"The Genealogical Science is a wonderful account of how old-fashioned race science has come to be re-defined by resort to the most recent developments i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43b/talal-asad-25475_accounts_the-genealogical-science-is-a-wonderful_627373.jpg" --- # The Genealogical Science is a wonderful account of how… ![“The Genealogical Science is a wonderful account of how old-fashioned race science has come to be re-defined by resort to the most recent developments in genetics. But this book is not simply another story of the ideological uses to which science may be put. Nadia Abu El-Haj has provided the reader…” quote by Talal Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43b/talal-asad-25475_accounts_the-genealogical-science-is-a-wonderful_627373.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43b/talal-asad-25475_accounts_the-genealogical-science-is-a-wonderful_627373.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43b/talal-asad-25475_accounts_the-genealogical-science-is-a-wonderful_627373.jpg) > “The Genealogical Science is a wonderful account of how old-fashioned race science has come to be re-defined by resort to the most recent developments in genetics. But this book is not simply another story of the ideological uses to which science may be put. Nadia Abu El-Haj has provided the reader with a very detailed analysis of the historical entanglement between science and politics. Her study should be required reading for anyone interested in the sociology of science-and also for those dealing with Middle Eastern nationalisms. This is a work of outstanding value for scholarship.” [Talal Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talal-asad/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Analyzes how modern genetics redefines old race science, linking scientific narratives to political agendas. **In simple terms:** Genetics reshapes race ideas. Key Takeaway Critically examine science’s political ties. Themes science politics race history Mood analytical critical Type review scholarly When to use this quote - academic curricula - policy debates - public discourse Key Concepts epistemology colonialism nationalism Questions to Reflect On - How does genetics influence identity politics? - What responsibilities do scientists have? A Different Perspective Risk of oversimplifying complex histories. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Analysis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/analysis/) [Biology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Entanglement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entanglement/) [Genetics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genetics/) [Historical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Nationalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nationalism/) [Old fashioned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-fashioned/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Resorts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resorts/) [Scholarship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scholarship/) [Sociology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sociology/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [Wonderful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonderful/) ## Related quotes > [“Most of the fundamental errors committed in economic analysis,” Joseph Schumpeter wrote in his History of Economic Analysis, “are due to lack of historical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/most-of-the-fundamental-errors-committed-in-economic-analysis-joseph/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sociology is the science with the greatest number of methods and the least results.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-poincare/sociology-is-the-science-with-the-greatest-number-of-methods-and-the/) [Henri Poincare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-poincare/) > [The function of sociology, as of every science, is to reveal that which is hidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bourdieu/the-function-of-sociology-as-of-every-science-is-to-reveal-that-which/) [Pierre Bourdieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bourdieu/) > [That subject has lost its one time appeal to economists as our science has become more abstract, but my interest has even grown more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-stigler/that-subject-has-lost-its-one-time-appeal-to-economists-as-our/) [George Stigler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-stigler/) > [Therefore, the good of man must be the end of the science of politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/therefore-the-good-of-man-must-be-the-end-of-the-science-of-politics/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [There is need for more science in politics and less politics in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-roberts/there-is-need-for-more-science-in-politics-and-less-politics-in/) [Richard J. Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-roberts/) > [It is a mistake to think of these men as visionary dreamers, playing around at Philadelphia with abstract conceptions of political theory, pulling a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-rodell/it-is-a-mistake-to-think-of-these-men-as-visionary-dreamers-playing/) [Fred Rodell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-rodell/) > [There is a sense that science and politics are incompatible. I don't think so at all. I think it's important that scientists take great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-d-holt-jr/there-is-a-sense-that-science-and-politics-are-incompatible-i-don-t/) [Rush D. Holt, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-d-holt-jr/) > [No great advance has ever been made in science, politics, or religion, without controversy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-beecher/no-great-advance-has-ever-been-made-in-science-politics-or-religion/) [Lyman Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyman-beecher/) > [The belief that politics can be scientific must inevitably produce tyrannies. Politics cannot be a science, because in politics theory and practice cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/the-belief-that-politics-can-be-scientific-must-inevitably-produce/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [Politics cannot be a science, because in politics theory and practice cannot be separated, and the sciences depend upon their separation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/politics-cannot-be-a-science-because-in-politics-theory-and-practice/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [There is no greater impediment to the advancement of knowledge than the ambiguity of words. To this chiefly it is owing that we find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-reid/there-is-no-greater-impediment-to-the-advancement-of-knowledge-than/) [Thomas Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-reid/) > [That is the danger we now face. And this is why the intermixing of science and politics is a bad combination, with a bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/that-is-the-danger-we-now-face-and-this-is-why-the-intermixing-of/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [The science of politics is the one science that is deposited by the streams of history, like the grains of gold in the sand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/the-science-of-politics-is-the-one-science-that-is-deposited-by-the/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [The crossroads of science and politics is a dodgy place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/the-crossroads-of-science-and-politics-is-a-dodgy-place/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) ## More by Talal Asad > [The propensity to intellectualize is itself both essential and dangerous. I think in our modern world we are much more aware of its essential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talal-asad/the-propensity-to-intellectualize-is-itself-both-essential-and/) [Talal Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talal-asad/) > [Certainly in order to understand the natural world one needs clarity, logic, and the capacity for theory building. But that understanding tends to improve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talal-asad/certainly-in-order-to-understand-the-natural-world-one-needs-clarity/) [Talal Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talal-asad/) > [I think the approach to Islam as a tradition is helpful. Tradition helps us to focus on questions about authority and temporality, and about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talal-asad/i-think-the-approach-to-islam-as-a-tradition-is-helpful-tradition/) [Talal Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talal-asad/) > [Language has multiple uses, and is embedded in different forms of life. It is not necessary to have this grand concept of "humanity" in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talal-asad/language-has-multiple-uses-and-is-embedded-in-different-forms-of-life/) [Talal Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talal-asad/) > [Believers are often thought of as people who have some kind of private conviction or repudiation of something, whereas "the faithful" refers to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talal-asad/believers-are-often-thought-of-as-people-who-have-some-kind-of/) [Talal Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talal-asad/) > [You do not need intellectuality for deep faith. You do not need it for behaving humanely towards people whether fellow Muslims or non-Muslims. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talal-asad/you-do-not-need-intellectuality-for-deep-faith-you-do-not-need-it-for/) [Talal Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talal-asad/) > [In liberal society we claim that freedom of speech is sacred and therefore has an absolute character. But we know (or should know) that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talal-asad/in-liberal-society-we-claim-that-freedom-of-speech-is-sacred-and/) [Talal Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talal-asad/) > [“The construction of civilizational difference is not exclusive in any simple sense. The de-essentialization of Islam is paradigmatic for all thinking about the assimilation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talal-asad/the-construction-of-civilizational-difference-is-not-exclusive-in-any/) [Talal Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talal-asad/) > [For the law, the clarity of language and the finality of judgment is crucial, because you have to decide a case one way or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talal-asad/for-the-law-the-clarity-of-language-and-the-finality-of-judgment-is/) [Talal Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talal-asad/) > [You should never employ your intellect but only that it is not essential to exercise it in order to live a humane life. Language…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talal-asad/you-should-never-employ-your-intellect-but-only-that-it-is-not/) [Talal Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talal-asad/) > [The notion of "humanity" as a form of transcendence derives, I think, from the conviction that intellectuality possesses an absolute power, from the demand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talal-asad/the-notion-of-humanity-as-a-form-of-transcendence-derives-i-think/) [Talal Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talal-asad/) > [I do not think there is such a thing as a "clash of civilizations." When I say that Muslims as Muslims cannot be represented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talal-asad/i-do-not-think-there-is-such-a-thing-as-a-clash-of-civilizations-when/) [Talal Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talal-asad/) > [Why is it that aggression in the name of God shocks secular liberal sensibilities, whereas the act of killing in the name of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talal-asad/why-is-it-that-aggression-in-the-name-of-god-shocks-secular-liberal/) [Talal Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talal-asad/) > [Tradition is an aspiration to connect the Self with the Other. One "internalizes" the Other as one acquires a sense of what one's own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talal-asad/tradition-is-an-aspiration-to-connect-the-self-with-the-other-one/) [Talal Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talal-asad/) > [I do not criticize religion as such, but I criticize the concept and the definition of "religion" - as I said in Genealogies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talal-asad/i-do-not-criticize-religion-as-such-but-i-criticize-the-concept-and/) [Talal Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talal-asad/) [Explore all 23 Talal Asad quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talal-asad/) ## More Accounts quotes > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [Think of these things, whence you came, where you are going, and to whom you must account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/think-of-these-things-whence-you-came-where-you-are-going-and-to-whom/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [The Hindus have a peculiar slovenliness in business matters, not being sufficiently methodical and strict in keeping accounts etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-hindus-have-a-peculiar-slovenliness-in-business-matters-not-being/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [With the Truman book, I wrote the entire account of his experiences in World War I before going over to Europe to follow his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/with-the-truman-book-i-wrote-the-entire-account-of-his-experiences-in/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [A great read; an exciting, frightening account of organized crime today. 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