The Philosophical Roots of Racial Essentialism and Its Legacy
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Date
2016-11-16
Authors
Zack, Naomi
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Confluence: Journal of World Philosophies
Abstract
Racial essentialism or the idea of unchanging racial substances that support human social hierarchy, was introduced into philosophy by David Hume and expanded upon by Immanuel Kant. These strong influences continued into W. E. B. Du Bois’ moral and spiritual idea of a black race, as a destiny to be fulfilled past a world of racism and inequality. In the twenty-first century, »the race debates« between »eliminativists« and »retentionists« swirl around the lack of independent biological scientific foundation for physical human races and the ongoing importance of race as a social ordering principle and source of identity. Analyses of the idea of race are of philosophical concern for historical and conceptual reasons, as well as ongoing issues of contemporary identity and social injustice.
Description
14 pages
Keywords
essentialism, race debates, racial retention, W. E. B. Du Bois, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, science and race, racial eliminativism
Citation
Zack, N. (2016). The Philosophical Roots of Racial Essentialism and Its Legacy. Confluence: Journal of World Philosophies, 1. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.iu.edu/iupjournals/index.php/confluence/article/view/522