French language Q&A Forum

Hi,

I have a question regarding "lequel"...

I still dont get when to use "que" and "lequel".....

There is one sentence i found from online news article and the use of "lequel" in it confuses me..

Le racisme, c'est l'idée selon laquelle l'espèce humaine serait composée de plusieurs races différentes.

It is literally the first sentence of the article and so nothing has been mentioned before that sentence. Regardless the "laquelle" has been used along with "selon", preposition. Also, when I translate it based on a dictionary, it means "according to which". It sounds so weird if i apply it onto the whole sentence. 

So, my questions are.......

1. is it necessary to use "selon laquelle or can I simply use "que" instead? (Like "c'est l'idée QUE l'espèce humaine serait....")

2. And just like "dans lequel" which can simply translate as "where(=où)", does "selon lequel" also mean something simple other than its dictionary meaning, "according to which"? 

I would appreciate for any reply!

Je ne comprende pas ce qu'il faut faire......

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