Brain Evolution and the Need for Critical Race Theory

Critical race theory is based on the thought that the concepts of race and racism are produced by social thought and power relations. Race is a socially constructed category used to oppress others, and racism is its behavioral manifestation.

According to Webster's Dictionary, racism is antagonism directed against a person based on their membership in a racial or ethnic group different from your own. As a neuroscientist, I view racism through a unique, but not necessarily clearer, lens. Given the apparent universality of racism around the world, as well as throughout recorded history, racism might be an essential emergent property of brains that has survived throughout our evolution.

Given that brains evolved to perform only two things: survival and the procreation of more brains, racism must have been conserved as a behavior supporting one of these two goals. The most obvious choice is survival. How does being aggressive towards others that do not share your physical or genetic traits improve your survival?

From the standpoint of the brain’s functioning, the answer depends upon knowing about the function of small almond-shaped structure, the amygdala, and its companion, the hippocampus. They both live on the lateral sides of the brain, not far from each ear.

The amygdala and hippocampus receive information from your eyes and ears (as well as many other inputs). These two brain regions assess the information and answer a simple question: is this familiar? If what you are seeing or hearing is unfamiliar according to your hippocampus, the amygdala generates fear. For example, if you are in an unfamiliar location and see people you do not know or look unfamiliar, your brain generates fear.

If the information you see or hear is ambiguous or inappropriate, the amygdala generates fear. We fear the unknown, the unfamiliar, or the unexpected. We fear people who do not share our appearance, genes, or behaviors.

Almost without fail, and regardless of the nature of the information gathered by your vigilant brain, the amygdala usually comes to the same conclusion: be afraid. If everyone is considered dangerous until proven otherwise, you are much more likely to survive the experience and pass on your be-fearful-first genes to the next generation.

Thus, humans fear everything unfamiliar or not-like-me: we fear unfamiliar dogs, people who look or dress differently, unfamiliar places, unfamiliar odors, things that go bump in the night, heights, enclosed small spaces, dark alleys, unknown people who follow us, etc. You get the idea.

We all have witnessed the consequences of fear: we hide behind closed doors, we hide in protected or gated communities, we hire bodyguards, we install security systems or build walls to keep out the others who are not like us. The Stand Your Ground law in some states is an expression of this concept: If you feel fear, strike first.

By now, you have gotten the point that being frightened of everything all of the time is a safe and effective way to maintain our species. To defend their territory or family, all animals become aggressive when frightened. Humans react with aggression because of the nature of how our brains evolved to increase our likelihood of survival and the procreation of our species.

Humans fear anyone different will reduce the likelihood of our survival, our way of life, the safety of our family or friends. We become aggressive in response to that fear. The be-fearful-first approach to survival has worked well for the past two hundred thousand years, but it has made us racists.

Honest consideration of critical race theory may allow us to one day compensate for this aspect of brain evolution.