Racism and Its Presuppositions: Towards a Pragmatic Ethics of Social Change

• Authors: B. Lanre-Abass
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Racism has been described as a litmus test or a barium meal which reveals other disorders and injustices within the body politic. It presupposes the legitimacy of racial classifications and the metaphysical reality of races and therefore provides a vital area of scrutiny for philosophical traditions. This paper examines racism and its anti-social effects both on the individual and the society at large. It argues that racism is generally driven by fear and hatred hence all forms of racism are dangerous, socially harmful and morally wrong in practice. The paper recommends ways of overcoming the evil of racism by emphasizing social intelligence and self-realization as moral ideals drawing on John Dewey's pragmatism in ethics. It concludes by stressing Dewey's moral pragmatism as a potent instrument of social change.

Keywords

EN

racism; pragmatism; moral philosophy; ethics and social change

• Publisher: Sciendo
• Journal: Human Affairs
• Year: 2010
• Volume: 20
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 364-375

Dates

published

2010-12-01

online

2010-12-16

Contributors

author

B. Lanre-Abass

• Department of Philosophy, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

References

• Alcoff, L. M. Racism. In A. M. Jaggar and I. M. Young (Eds.). A Companion to Feminist Philosophy. Oxford: Blackwell Publ., 475-484, 1998.
• Boydston, J. A. (Ed.). John Dewey: The Later Works (1925-1953). Vol.7, 1932. Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 1985.
• Bunnin, N., Yu, J. Racism. In N. Bunnin and Yu, J. The Blackwell Dictionary of Western Philosophy. Oxford: Blackwell Publ., 582, 2004.
• Dewey, J. Moral Philosophy: The Democratic Way of Life. In E. Craig (Ed.). Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Vol.3. London: Routledge, 49-51, 1998.
• Feinberg, J. Social Philosophy. Chapter 7. Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice-Hall, 1973.
• Garcia, J. L. A. Racism. In L. C. Becker, C. B. Becker (Eds.). Encyclopedia of Ethics. (Second Edition). Vol. III (P-W). London: Routledge, 1436-1440, 2001.
• Goffart, W. Racism. In D. I. Eggenberger (Ed.). The New Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 12. New York: McGraw Hill, 54-60, 1967.
• Gouinlock, J. John Dewey (1859-1952). In L. C.Becker, C. B. Becker (Eds.). Encyclopedia of Ethics. (Second edition). Vol. I (A-G) London: Routledge, 402-405, 2001.
• Gouinlock, J. Dewey and Contemporary Moral Philosophy. In J. J. Stuhr (Ed.). Philosophy and the Reconstruction of Culture: Pragmatic Essays after Dewey. New York: University of New York Press, 79-96, 1993.
• Gouinlock, J. John Dewey: Moral Philosophy and the Construction of the Good. In E. Craig (Ed.). Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Vol. 3. London: Routledge, 48-49. 1998.
• Hare, R. M. Pragmatism. In J. K. Roth (Ed.). International Encyclopedia of Ethics. (A-Z). London: Fitzroy Dearborn Publ., 692-693, 1995.
• Hart, H. L. A. The Concept of Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 156-8, 1961.
• Hooks, B. The Oppositional Gaze: Black Female Spectators. In B. Hooks (Ed.). Black Looks: Race and Representation. Boston: South End Press, 115-131, 1992.
• Hooks, B. Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism. Boston: South End Press, 1981.
• Leech, K. Racism. In P. B. Clarke, A. Linzey (Eds.). Dictionary of Ethics, Theology and Society. London: Routledge, 709-711, 1996.
• Lichtenberg, J. Racism in the Head, Racism in the World. In N. Zack, L. Shrage, C. Sartwell (Eds.). Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality: The Big Questions. Oxford: Blackwell Publ., 43-48, 1998.
• Rawls, J. A Theory of Justice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1971.
• Schneider, H. W. Dewey's Ethics. In J. A. Boydston (Ed.). Guide to the works of John Dewey. Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 99-111, 1970.
• Seigfried, Ch. H. Pragmatism. In R. Audi (Ed.). The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy. (2nd edition). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 730-731, 1999.
• Shrage, L. Equal Opportunity. In A.M Jaggar, I. M. Young (Eds.). A Companion to Feminist Philosophy. Oxford: Blackwell Publ., 559-568, 1998.
• Singer, P. Is Racial Discrimination Arbitrary? In J. Narveson (Ed.). Moral Issues. New York: Oxford University Press, 308-324, 1983.
• Zack, N. Race: Introduction to the Readings. In N. Zack, L. Shrage, C. Sartwell (Eds.). Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality: The Big Questions. Oxford: Blackwell Publ., 11-14, 1998.
• Zack, N. Mixed Black and White Race and Public Policy. In N. Zack, L. Shrage, C. Sartwell (Eds.). Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality: The Big Questions. Oxford: Blackwell Publ., 73-87, 1998.
• Zack, N. Race and Mixed Race. Philadelphia, Pa: Temple University Press, 1993.

Identifiers

DOI

10.2478/v10023-010-0037-5