Open AccessStormy Weather: Race, Gene Expression, and the Science of Health Disparities
Author(s) -
Nancy Krieger
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
american journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.284
H-Index - 264
eISSN - 1541-0048
pISSN - 0090-0036
DOI - 10.2105/ajph.2005.067108
Subject(s) - race (biology) , ideology , context (archaeology) , ethnic group , health equity , politics , expression (computer science) , scientific consensus , sociology , reflexivity , political science , public health , environmental ethics , epistemology , social science , climate change , gender studies , medicine , law , geography , biology , global warming , ecology , philosophy , nursing , archaeology , computer science , programming language
In the current US political climate, conservative foundations are seeking to frame debates over determinants of racial/ethnic health disparities as a matter of "politically correct" unscientific ideology (concerning the health impacts of discrimination) vs scientific yet "politically incorrect" expertise rooted in biological facts (concerning genes). I draw on historical and contemporary examples to place conservative polemics in context, and also highlight fundamental flaws in their arguments involving the use of spurious categories (e.g., Caucasian), logical fallacies, temporal fallacies, and an erroneous emphasis on gene frequency over gene expression. The larger goal is to strengthen development of a more critical, reflexive, and rigorous science capable of generating evidence useful for rectifying--rather than perpetuating--social disparities in health.