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Phila M. Msimang

@msimang.bsky.social
2K followers 334 following 97 posts

Philosopher of race, biology, and related social issues. www.researchgate.net/profile/Phila-…

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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
🧬 🧫 Looking forward to participating in the "Harnessing African Genetic Diversity as a Global Resource for Public Health" meeting. I will be discussing the risks, benefits, and limitations of genomics for health in this context. More info here: www.icgeb.org/african-gene...
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
I’m glad to have contributed to this project as a coauthor of Chapter 12 which is titled “Toward inclusive medical education, research, and practice: Removing race from genetics”. It was written by Fernandez, Msimang, Uren, and Petersen. Find the chapter here: doi.org/10.1016/B978...
Cover of the edited collection "Decolonizing Medical Education, Research, and Practice" edited by Faadiel Essop.
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Yeah, this is all tragic. I wrote elsewhere that this is clearly a case of both racism and dishonesty. Could you please let me know what the free online text comparison tool you used was? You didn’t mention what it was in your piece.
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Going out on a limb on this one, but I don’t think he’d make it through the selection process if he did apply.
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
For those of you not on LinkedIn, this information is also available on the SU website. Click on the option at the bottom of the linked page with the thumbnail labelled “Available postdoc positions”. This position is presently listed there: www.su.ac.za/en/research/...
su.ac.za
​Postdoctoral Research Support Office
​Postdoctoral Research Support Office at Stellenbosch University
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Postdoc available in the RACES Initiative for those interested in working at the intersection of race and racism, science, and institutional culture. See the ad attached for more details. Applications close on the 30th of September 2026: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
Next week I will have the pleasure of presenting my work on the intersection of race, politics, and international relations at Rhodes University’s Department of Political and International Studies in their Teach-In Series of 2026. See more about the Teach-In Series here: lnkd.in/dT4qcWdt
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
A summer school on biology and society.
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Here's a report on the use of race in the health sciences at a South African University based on a symposium I was involved in at that university. What I liked about the format was that we not only looked at known challenges but also proposed practical ways forward. www.linkedin.com/posts/msiman...
linkedin.com
UCT Faculty of Health Sciences Symposium on Race in Health Sciences | Phila M. Msimang posted on the topic | LinkedIn
I recently had the pleasure of receiving this report. It is about a symposium I presented a keynote on the use of race in the health sciences. This symposium was hosted by the UCT Faculty of Health Sc...
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
If the dark ages were real, I bet that this is how they started.
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
It has gotten off to a great start.
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
I am about to present in this exciting workshop.
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
Yeah, I don’t know how and why because I posted it in order 😅
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
It’s a pleasure
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
I meant to say that this chapter is for *The Routledge Handbook of the History of the Philosophy of Science after Kant.
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
Yes, you can find it here: www.researchgate.net/publication/... :)
researchgate.net
(PDF) Philosophy and race science
PDF | This chapter focuses on the history of the philosophy behind race science. Although the scientific and philosophical debate about race goes back... | Find, read and cite all the research you nee...
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
We end the chapter by saying that this return of race science, given the history of race science, provides reason for disquiet. You can find the page proofs for this chapter here: www.researchgate.net/publication/...
researchgate.net
(PDF) Philosophy and race science
PDF | This chapter focuses on the history of the philosophy behind race science. Although the scientific and philosophical debate about race goes back... | Find, read and cite all the research you nee...
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
13/13 The rise of consumer ancestry tests is also a major concern. By reporting results in terms of supposed racial origins, they present complex biocultural histories as categorical ancestry components. This misleadingly naturalises classifications of race & ethnicity in the manner of race science.
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
12/13 This relates to our warning against the rise of liberal eugenics. Despite its framing as individual parental choice, the use of race as a proxy in this domain makes doubtful its distancing from racism especially in how its eugenics will likely reinforce already preexisting racial hierarchies.
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
11/13 Another pillar of this revival is the failure of personalised genomics. This failure has led to precision medicine. This field uses race as a proxy for ancestry, reintroducing the methodological and typological errors of race science into current medical and behavioural science practices.
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
10/13 Since 2000, race science has returned with a vengeance. One basis emerges from the argument that since we can cluster genetic data into groups, those clusters are biologically real race groups. But statistical clustering in this case doesn’t map onto meaningful biological categories.
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
9/13 We close the chapter by examining the contemporary resurgence of biological realism about race triggered by various interpretations of the Human Genome Project and commercial ancestry testing. Beliefs in biological race have returned in a ‘new’ statistical, high-tech, genomic guise.
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
8/13 Nevertheless, we highlight that scientific refutation alone does not stop the social harm caused by racist ideas. For instance: despite being discredited, works like The Bell Curve continue to influence arguments against policies for social justice and welfare (through think tanks, etc.).
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
7/13 We argue that hereditarians’ reliance on heritability estimates is confused and dependent on false claims about genetics. Moreover, from Lewontin’s empirical interventions to contemporary genomics, the races they assume are real have been shown to lack robust biological reality.
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
6/13 We review parts of the case debunking this central argument. Its flawed logic claims that because IQ is heritable, performance gaps must be genetic. We reiterate that heritability is a population-specific measure that doesn't tell you about the aetiology or cause of a trait.
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
5/13 In 1969, race science was revived by hereditarian psychologist Arthur Jensen. He argued that IQ differences between races are genetic, fixed, and immune to social intervention. Jensen’s framework became the central argument for contemporary versions of scientific racism.
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
4/13 This decline in race science was reinforced by penetrating scientific critiques from biologists like Richard Lewontin. Despite their interventions in the debate, scientific racism was already making a comeback in the US by the late 1960s.
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
3/13 Following the atrocities of WWII, race science went into a temporary decline. This retreat was bolstered by the 1950 & 1951 UNESCO statements on race alongside a budding recognition of the devastating consequences of the biological theories about race that motivated Nazism.
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
2/13 We begin the chapter by tracing the development of race science. We show how race in modernity was developed as a biological category used to justify social hierarchies. This was a project that explicitly and often intentionally dominated scientific thought until the mid-20th century.
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
1/13 Check out our new chapter, Philosophy and Race Science, co-authored with Sahotra Sarkar for The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy and Race. In it, we track the historical development, the temporary retreat, and the subsequent reincarnation of race as a biological concept: doi.org/10.4324/9781...
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
That feeling of “there’s nothing left to laugh about” in middle age is seen here in graph form. At least it also shows hope that if you live long enough there are plenty of things you could laugh about in the future.
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
This is a thought-provoking article, worth the read.
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Wow, congratulations! All the best for your project
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Please follow and share this profile - announcements of their upcoming talks in the philosophy of biology will be shared here on Bluesky.
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
It was a good day today.
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Reposted by Phila M. Msimang
HUGERA @hugeraproject.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Prof. Duana Fullwiley (Stanford University) kicks off our spring speaker series with the talk “Into the Lab: Racial World Building and its Discontents” on February 3rd. You can register to attend via zoom here: hugera.org/lecture-seri...
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Reposted by Phila M. Msimang
Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
The International Fellowships programme provides support for outstanding early career researchers. First identify a suitable mentor in the Faculty of Philosophy. Once you have obtained their agreement, send CV & expression of interest to philref@phil.cam.ac.uk by Thursday, 12 February 2026 #philsci
Eligibility Requirements
The applicant must:
• Have a PhD, or applicants in the final stages of their PhD will be accepted provided that the PhD will be completed (including viva) before the Final Awards Committee meets on the 1 June 2026.
• Applicants should have no more than five years of active full time postdoctoral experience at the time of application (discounting career breaks, but including teaching experience and/or time spent in industry).
• Be working outside the UK.
• Not hold UK citizenship.
• Be competent in oral and written English.
• Have a clearly defined and mutually-beneficial research proposal agreed with a UK host researcher.Duration and Value of Award
The International Fellowships offer support for two years and the award is offered at 80% FEC.
Applicants may apply for research expenses of up to £12,000 and relocation costs of up to £8,000. Applicants will need to justify the level of research expenses and relocation costs requested in their application.
Applicants may also be eligible to receive follow on Alumni funding following the tenure of their Fellowship to support networking activities with UK-based or international researchers.
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
I am looking forward to being a part of this pre-conference panel.
A poster announcing the "Situating Philosophy" pre-conference panel being held at the University of the Western Cape Life Science Auditorium.
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
People will spew this kind of rhetoric and praise the actions behind it and then be in complete shock when it leads to retaliatory action. We know this to be what initiates a very cynical cycle of violence. Completely predictable, still tragic and worth resisting.
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
Yes, sure. But what I plan to write goes beyond that to giving an analysis of the propaganda machine that produces that narrative about the "144 laws" and where it sits in our politics.
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
Haha, no. But I am considering writing something about that if I get a gap to do so next year.
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
One of the things I enjoyed this year was this interview with Rasmus Bitsch where Tessa (@tessamuldvarp.bsky.social) and I discuss the work we have been doing mapping the history of racial classification in South Africa. You can listen to this interview here: podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/a...
Screenshot of the ARC website hosting the podcast interview
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Reposted by Phila M. Msimang
Microbiome research and race in the 'Local South' @localmicrobes.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
📣 Our second call for abstracts for our special issue is out! 🙌 If you work on the intersection of human microbiomes, ethics and society in Africa, this call is for you! Check it out there: sajs.co.za/call-human-d... If not, you can still spread the message widely! #histbio #philbio🐋🌱
sajs.co.za
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
They’re recycling old and very dangerous ideas, and we keep having to make the same arguments against them.
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 01/11/2025
Thank you, Celso! 😁
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 01/11/2025
Thank you, Alisa! I’m glad to be representing philosophy in these spaces 😊
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 01/11/2025
Thanks 🙏🏾
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 01/11/2025
Thank you, Tessa! ☺️
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
Last night I had the honour of being inducted into the South African Young Academy of Science.
It is hereby certified that Dr Phila Msimang has been elected a member of the South African Young Academy of Science (SAYAS) in recognition of significant achievement in the advancement and application of science.
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
It’s about the ethics, management, and use of human remains in institutional collections mostly tainted by colonialism: blog.prif.org/2025/02/28/b...
blog.prif.org
Bones of Injustice: Political Frictions in Restitutions of Human Remains from Colonial Contexts - PRIF BLOG
In recent years, many museums and universities have begun to address past colonial injustices by critically examining their collections of human remains, often leading to their restitution to their as...
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