Dealing with Kant's Racism, Prof. Nathan Bauer

The German philosopher Immanuel Kant was a racist. For a sympathetic Kantian philosopher–like myself–this is a dismaying fact. It raises difficult and troubling questions about how one should respond to the horrific beliefs we find expressed in his work. Charles Mills, an influential philosopher and political theorist, argues that racism infects the very core of Kant’s philosophical system. I will examine this particular claim, while also reflecting more broadly on the tension between the ideals of the European Enlightenment project and the colonial, imperialist, racist environment in which it emerged.

I will not be assuming familiarity with Kant’s work in this talk. I’ll introduce key features of his account, and I’ll discuss what I take to be the enduring value of his ethical theory–which, ironically, includes many valuable resources for addressing issues of race. The talk should be mostly jargon-free (in other words, nothing like Kant’s own work!) Think of it as everything you’ve always wanted to know about Kantian ethics, but were afraid to ask.

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