Kant scholars have paid relatively little attention to his raciology. They assume that his racism, as personal prejudice, can be disentangled from his core philosophy. They also assume that racism contradicts his moral theory. In this book, philosopher Huaping Lu-Adler challenges both assumptions. She shows how Kant's raciology--divided into racialism and racism--is integral to his philosophical system. She also rejects the individualistic approach to Kant and
racism. Instead, she uses the notion of racism as ideological formation to demonstrate how Kant, from his social location both as a prominent scholar and as a lifelong educator, participated in the
formation of modern racist ideology. As a scholar, Kant developed a ground-breaking scientific theory of race from the standpoint of a philosophical investigator of nature or Naturforscher. As an educator, he transmitted denigrating depictions of the racialized others and imbued those descriptions with normative relevance. In both roles, he left behind, as one of his legacies, a worldview that excluded non-whites from such goods as recognitional respect and
candidacy for cultural and moral achievements. Scholars who research and teach Kant's philosophy therefore have an unshakable burden to take part in the ongoing antiracist struggles, through their teaching practices
as well as their scholarship. And they must do so with a pragmatic attention to nonideal social realities and a deliberate orientation toward substantial racial justice, equality, and inclusion. Lu-Adler pushes the discourse about Kant and racism well beyond the old debates about whether he was racist or whether his racism contaminates his philosophy. By foregrounding the lasting legacies of Kant's raciology, her work calls for a profound reorientation of Kant scholarship.
Industry Reviews
"Kant, Race and Racism locates Kant's theory of races in his philosophical system and demonstrates how his understanding of scientific theories enabled the introduction of a systematic concept of race that could structure attitudes and practices. The book also details Kant's role in excluding non-Western authors from the philosophical canon. In a forward-looking conclusion, Huaping Lu-Adler explains how, with a better understanding of what Kant did, current
scholars can use some aspects of his moral theory to try to undo vestiges of his unfortunate legacy on the question of race. Anyone who teaches Kant's ethics should find time to read this illuminating and
comprehensive study of his institutional role in diminishing the prospects of members of non-White races." -- Patricia Kitcher, Roberta and William Campbell Professor Emerita of the Humanities, Professor Emerita of Philosophy, Columbia University
"In this deeply researched and illuminating study, Lu-Adler cracks open the Kant archive to present readers with a piercing analysis of Kant's long legacy as a writer, educator, and indeed as a major figure in the philosophical canon itself. While there have been numerous small studies of the role played by racialized peoples in Kant's philosophy before now, there has not yet been a systematic study of this scale or of such persuasive achievement. Speaking to
those of us still engaged by the figures and themes of the Enlightenment, Lu-Adler closes her book with a sense of optimism and an action plan for antiracist educators and scholars alike. Kant, Race,
and Racism: Views from Somewhere will dramatically reshape contemporary debates over all these issues and be essential reading for anyone invested in maintaining Kant's relevance in the academy today." -- Jennifer Mensch, Author of Kant's Organicism: Epigenesis and the Development of Critical Philosophy
"As an intervention in an ongoing debate on Kant's racism and on the consequences of the recognition of Kant's racism, Kant, Race, and Racism is challenging-and indispensable-to everyone concerned about how philosophy should be done by those with antiracist commitments." -- Robert Bernasconi, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Philosophy, Pennsylvania State University
"[Kant, Race, and Racism] marks a new stage in [Kantian] debates. This is a landmark book that is both unavoidable and indispensable for anyone keen to think or write about Kant and Race. Quite simply, if you have something to say on the subject, it will have to be in relation to what Lu-Adler has written here. And what she has written is nothing short of breathtaking in its scope, ambition, and originality."-Inder Marwah, Kantian Review
"Lu-Adler's Kant, Race, and Racism is essential reading for Kant scholars, and indeed for all philosophers with antiracist commitments in a field shot through with Kant's controversial legacy. Lu-Adler's powerful study sets a new benchmark that moves scholarship beyond the standard 'contradiction thesis' dispute to a situated understanding of Kant as a producer of racial knowledge at a critical juncture in world history."-Andrew Cooper, European Journal of
Philosophy
