Ape to Apollo byBindman

by Bindman

Race was essentially a construction of the 18th century, a means by which the Enlightenment could impose rational order on human variety. In this book, David Bindman argues that ideas of beauty were from the beginning inseparable from race, as Europeans judged the civility and aesthetic capacity of other races by their appearance. These judgements were combined with a conflict between those who wished to order humanity into separate races, and those who believed in a common humanity whose differences were due to climatic and geographical variations.

Genres: History, Art History, Anthropology, Cultural, 18th Century

Hardcover

First published September 26, 2002

Reviews

[Boria Sax · Rating 5 out of 5]

The way scientists, since at least the eighteenth century, deceived both their public and themselves with pretentions to scientific objectivity, as they presented obviously self-serving claims of European racial superiority is at once fascinating, disheartening, and funny. Until recently, the most definitive book on this was The Mismeasure of Man by Stephen J. Gould, who certainly knew how play up both the tragic and comic sides of this story. In retrospect, however, Gould's account seems to be flawed by careless omissions and rhetorical exaggerations. Much of this may come down to Gould's egotism, as he constantly draws attention to himself, through means such as idiosyncratic syntax and personal digressions. David Bindman, author of Ape to Apollo has little of Gould's personal charm, but his treatment of the subject just might be sounder. He explains in detail the conceptions of race in the works of Winckelman, Linnaeus, Kant, Herder, Darwin, Blumenbach, Lavater, Galton, the Foster brothers, and many others, as well as the cultural context in which they worked. He style is clear, direct, and straightforward, and, for the most part, he leaves moralizing to the reader. He might perhaps seem a bit detached to some, but he resists every temptation to caricature the thinkers he discusses.