Connection Questions 1. Linnaeus tested the idea that all living things are related to one another. What ideas were Blumenbach and Camper testing? To what extent were their methods good science—in the sense that they rigorously tested their hypotheses? To what extent did their approaches question “conventional wisdom”? To what extent did they reinforce conventional wisdom?
2. Linnaeus, Blumenbach, and Camper were all men of faith. How did their religious beliefs shape their observations of the natural world? What other aspects of their identity may have influenced the way they viewed differences among humankind? The value they placed on the similarities among humankind?
3. Why do you think Blumenbach regarded physical beauty as proof of superiority? Would he agree that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”? How do notions of beauty affect the value we attach to individuals and groups?
4. Look carefully at Camper’s illustration. If possible, project a slide of the image on a large screen and then discuss the illustration in small groups.
—Try not to explain the picture, simply describe what you notice. Have someone in the group record your observations and those of your classmates. You may also want to record your own impressions in your journal.
—Which faces look the most “human”? How does the artist use lines,
—Based on your group’s interpretation, give the drawing a title.
5. Camper called his drawing “The progression of skulls and facial expressions— from monkey, through black, to the average European and then thence to the Greek ideal-type.” To what extent does his title support your impressions of the drawing? What is the significance of the word progression?
6. What kinds of proofs do you find more powerful—written proofs or visual evidence? Which is more likely to stretch the mind and inspire the imagination? Which is more difficult to forget? How do you think ideas like those of Blumenbach and Camper might have influenced people of the time? To what extent might the mystique of science keep the average person from questioning their ideas?
Written Work for Connection Questions:
https://www. facinghistory. org/resource-library/ranking-humank ind
https://www. facinghistory. org/resource-library/image/illustra tion-facial-angles-petrus-camper-du tch-anatomist