"There is Only One Race, The Human Race" Is an Incorrect Statement

My opening argument will be split into 3 parts, each affirming the resolution on its own.1. Humans are a Genus The term "human" applies to all members of the genus homo. When we say "we are human", we are claiming to be a member of a group spanning 14 distinct species of hominid. Those species are (in order from oldest to most recent) [1];H. habilisH. gautengensisH. rudolfensisH. ergasterH. erectusH. antecessorH. heidelbergensisH. cepranensisH. neanderthalensisH. rhodesiensisH. sapiens idaltuH. floresiensisDenisova homininH. sapiens sapiens(modern humans)It should be noted that a few of these, namely Neanderthals and idaltus, are not universally considered to be distinct species, but rather a sub-species (or race) of Homo Sapiens. This, by definition, already proves that there are distinct races of human, but there's a more fundamental argument at play. If human beings are a genus, and a race is a sub-group within a species, then etymologically speaking one cannot say that there is only one race of human as that would be conflating our genus (homo) with our species (sapien [sapien]). It would be akin to saying, "there is only one kind of dog breed; the canine breed", ignoring the fact that the term "canine" actually includes dingoes, wolves (of which there are 5+ breeds), jackals, coyotes and domestic dogs [2]. Therefore, to make the claim that the "human race" is the only race is immediately incorrect terminologically speaking. This statement equivocates race with genus, a jump of 2 orders, which makes it even less correct than saying "there is only one race, the sapien race" or "there is only one genus, the sapien genus", because at least these statements are only equivocating over one order of magnitude of taxonomic classification.2. Genetic MarkersEven if we shrink our scope to homo sapiens alone, we can see clear and distinct sub-groups. Even if we only observe superficial phenotype markers, it is undeniable that there are aggregate similarities within certain groups correlating to a common geographical ancestry. I won't bother explaining which physical characteristics match up with which geographical location because everyone already knows which go with where. The point is merely to establish that we can clearly see racial distinctions within humans, just as we can with any species which has distinct sub-groups in various parts of the Earth. These differences are more than just cosmetic, mind you. Consider that the total genetic diversity of the human genome is equal to about 0.32% (between whites and blacks). That is to say, the two most unrelated humans on Earth have a genetic similarity of about 99.68% [3]. While 1/3 of a percent might not sound like much, keep in mind that chimps are only estimated to be about 1-2% different from us [4]. Clearly, small differences add up. Let us also consider the current controversy of Neanderthals. Some scientists argue that they are a separate species, while other argue that they are just a separate race. The average genetic distance between sapiens and Neanderthals is actually smaller than the total variance within the sapien genome (0.3% different) [5]. And while we don't have a large population of living Neanderthals to do genetic tests on, it's not hard to imagine that the total variance is about equal to the total variance within the sapien genome. Given that a genetic variance nearly equal to the genetic variance found within the sapien population has scientists debating on if Neanderthals are a distinct species, let alone a separate race, it is clear that there must be at least 2 different races of sapiens, since this same variation may or may not be enough for human speciation. Therefore, we cannot claim that there is only one race of sapien as the variance within the sapien genome is already nearly large enough for speciation to have occurred (assuming Neanderthals are found to be a distinct species).3. Self Identified RaceVirtually everyone knows what their race is. The U. S. census is a proof of this [6]. Even those who don't agree with the classifications in the census know which group they fit into as self-identified race matches up with the microsatellite markers geneticists use to determine race at a rate of 99.86% [7]. Therefore, we cannot deny that multiple races exist on the grounds that virtually all of us clearly recognize racial distinctions, even if we don't like to admit it. If self-identified race didn't match up with these major genetic clusters a statistically significant amount, then perhaps one could argue that race is merely a social construct, but the evidence says that race is very real and we all know it. ConclusionIn this round I have established that the statement "There is Only One Race, The Human Race" is incorrect for three main reasons, and several minor reasons. Those three reasons are 1. the statement is taxinomocally false, 2. the statement is false genetically speaking, and 3. the statement is false by the uniform agreement between self-identified race and the genetic markers denoting race. The resolution has been affirmed. 1. . http://en.wikipedia.org... 2. . http://en.wikipedia.org...3. . http://www.mun.ca... 4. . http://www.scientificamerican.com... 5. . http://en.wikipedia.org... 6. . http://en.wikipedia.org... 7. . http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...