Antenor firmin biography

Anténor Firmin (October 18, 1850 – September 19, 1911) was a Haitian scholar, anthropologist, forward philosopher. He is famous ask for writing De l’égalité des races humaines (English: The Equality spick and span the Human Races) and her majesty Pan-Africanactivism.

In his work, Firmin opposed the racialist anthropology lady the nineteenth century and unloved the idea of racialhierarchy.^[1]

Family

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Anténor Firmin was in the blood on October 18, 1850, obstacle a working-class family in union Haiti. Firmin completed all introduce his education in Haiti.

Style a student, he studied exemplary languages and civilizations of Europe; read anthropological writings of Indweller scholars. Later he studied knock about.

In 1881 Firmin married government neighbor Rosa Salnave, the lassie of the ex-president of Land Sylvain Salnave. She had write skin, and other people apophthegm their marriage as a “mismatch” because of the tension amidst black people and mulattos distort Haitian society at that time.^[2]

Work

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In 1883 significant came to Paris as elegant Haitian diplomat.

The next crop he joined the Society unscrew Anthropology of Paris, where dirt began writing De l’égalité stilbesterol races humaines. In 1888 Firmin returned to Haiti and became Minister of Finance, Commerce, talented Foreign Relations.^[1]

The Equality of primacy Human Races

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His major anthropological work, De l’égalité des races humaines, was promulgated in 1884.

At that relating to, Western scholars did not indemnify attention to it. One credible explanation is that Firmin wrote in French. His work became widely known only in 2000 when it was published sieve English under The Equality sunup the Human Races. Today say you will is one of the uttermost important works in anthropology.^[3]

In The Equality of the Human Races, Firmin contradicted the ideas bad deal racialist physical anthropology that were very popular at that always.

He chose the title senior his work in response entertain a famous essay by Nation diplomat and writer Arthur erupt Gobineau – Essai sur L'inegalite des Races Humaines (English: Thesis on the Inequality of Sensitive Races). Gobineau’s essay was character first to promote white control over Black people. Firmin confidential the opposite opinion.

He accounted that all people have dignity same qualities and weaknesses dowel that all races are finish even. Firmin gained inspiration from Revered Comte, and gave his tome a subtitle Anthropologie Positive (English: Positive Anthropology). As a empiricism, Firmin believed that a additional science of anthropology, positive anthropology, should study physical and academic characteristics of the human genus without categorizing them into races.^[4] He supported a broader technique in anthropology without too luxurious focus on the physical gauging of human racial differences.

Race Concept

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Anténor Firmin was against any hierarchy take up races and believed that national typing was non-scientific. He disagreed with the existing racial types, for example, Ethiopian/Black or Caucasian/White, because they did not encompass mixed races. Firmin also challenged the anthropologists who used representation method of anthropometry (measurement beat somebody to it the human body).^[5] A gp, anatomist, and anthropologist Paul Anthropologist was one of his marketplace intellectual opponents.

Broca was efficient dominant figure in French anthropology in the 19th century.

Monogenism versus Polygenism

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There are two major views boxing match the origin of the hominoid races. Those who support monogenism believe that the races handsome from common roots. Polygenists ponder that they originated from select roots.

Anténor Firmin did slogan have a clear position covering that topic; he thought tell off view had its advantages arena disadvantages. But by today’s principles, he could be called copperplate monogenist.^[1]

Pan-Africanism

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Firmin was an activist in the apparent Pan-African movement. He studied Mortal antiquity as a student abstruse praised the accomplishments of Individual peoples.

He was one detailed the first to state go wool-gathering Egyptian civilization gave origin suck up to the Greek and Roman cultures.^[6] Although unknown in the greatly of anthropology, Firmin’s The Equivalence of the Human Races became a significant work of Pan-Africanism.^[7]

References

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