A philosophical colour line: racism and political theory

Sorger, Andreas-Johann (2024) A philosophical colour line: racism and political theory. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

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Abstract

When examining the problem racism poses for philosophy, it is typically understood in one of two ways. On the one hand, the interpretive approach takes the racist statements of canonical philosophers like Hume, Voltaire, or Kant and subjects them to critical scrutiny to determine whether they have implications for their otherwise distinctly philosophical insights. On the other hand, the institutional approach locates racism in the institutional features and structures of academic philosophy, noting for instance the lack of diversity amongst both philosophy faculty and philosophy curricula. In my thesis, I argue that, although both approaches point out something useful about racism in philosophy, neither is adequate to fully capture the scope of philosophical racism; that is, the problem racism poses for the discipline. Interpretive approaches, I suggest, retain an individualist focus that unduly narrows the scope of inquiry, while institutional approaches neglect the conceptual dimensions to racism by focusing exclusively on institutional reform. Instead, I draw on recent developments in the philosophical literature to suggest that we should think of racism as being ideological in the pejorative sense. To make my case, I begin by bringing W.E.B. Du Bois’ reflections on racism into conversation with contemporary practicefirst accounts of ideology. My aim here is to articulate a Du Boisian account of ideology that can accurately track its historicised, functionalist, and interpretivist dimensions. I then pair this account with the methodological reflections of disciplinary historians, who understand academic disciplines not only in terms of the theoretical contributions scholars make, but also in terms of the academic practices that are enacted within a wider institutional nexus. The result is a theoretical framework that can analyse philosophical racism, by showing how a racist ideology can come to be embedded in the institutions of academic philosophy. This broadens the site of analysis of philosophical racism to include both conceptual and institutional dimensions, which I suggest can adequately capture the nature and scope of the problem.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Additional Information:	© 2024 Andreas-Johann Sorger
Library of Congress subject classification:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General) H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races J Political Science > JC Political theory
Sets:	Departments > Government
Supervisor:	Flikschuh, Katrin
URI:	http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/4731

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