Pseudospeciation
a form of othering, the treatment of different human groups as if they were different biological species
Pseudospeciation is a form of othering, the treatment of different human groups as if they were different biological species. It begins with the fact that cultural differences cause humans to separate into different social groups, with different language, dress, customs, etc. These cultural differences are claimed to be analogous to the formation of different biological species (speciation). In the extreme, pseudospeciation leads to dehumanization of other cultural groups (out-groups).
Pseudospeciation, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, refers to the tendency of members of in-groups to consider members of out-groups to have evolved genetically into different, separate, and inferior species to their own. The term was first used by Erik Erikson in 1966, according to his biographer, Lawrence J. Friedman. Dehumanization is one possible outcome of pseudospeciation, as is ethnic discrimination or genocide.
Francisco Gil-White proposed in 2001 that humans evolved in such a way that the brain perceives different ethnic groups to be equivalent to different biological 'species', thus suggesting that pseudospeciation is innate. His hypothesis has yet to receive widespread empirical support. His theory and data are found in Current Anthropology, Vol.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Pseudospeciation” as a form of othering, the treatment of different human groups as if they were different biological species. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as a form of othering, the treatment of different human groups as if they were different biological species. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6501074. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1966 and 2001.
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This entry incorporates text from “Pseudospeciation” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.