Lewontin's Fallacy

Lewontin's Fallacy involves misunderstanding genetic variation by focusing only on individual gene differences among populations, suggesting these differences are too small to define separate groups. However, this overlooks how multiple genes work together, or “link,” creating unique genetic combinations that reliably distinguish populations. Lewontin's original conclusion was that race isn’t a clear biological category, but his analysis underestimated the importance of these genetic linkages. Recognizing these combined patterns shows that, while individual gene differences are small, the overall genetic makeup can reliably identify human populations, making race a meaningful biological concept in certain contexts.