Kant and Slavery—Or Why He Never Became a Racial Egalitarian

Abstract

According to an oft-repeated narrative, while Kant maintained racist views through the 1780s, he changed his mind in the 1790s. Pauline Kleingeld introduced this narrative based on passages from Kant’s Metaphysics of Morals (1797) and “Toward Perpetual Peace” (1795). On her reading, Kant categorically condemned chattel slavery (and colonialism) in those texts, which meant that he became more racially egalitarian. But the passages involving slavery, once contextualized, either do not concern modern, race-based chattel slavery or at best suggest that Kant mentioned it as a cautionary tale for labor practices in Europe. Overall, Kant never explicitly considered chattel slavery as a moral problem to be addressed on its own. Rather, he treated it primarily in terms of its function in human history. If he ended up expressing some qualms about its practices, it was likely because they threatened to deepen intra-European conflicts and undermine the prospect of perpetual peace. The humanity of the enslaved “Negroes” was never part of the reasoning. This was not a casual oversight on Kant’s part. It reflects the complexity of his philosophical system: everything he did or did not say about chattel slavery begins to make sense once we connect his philosophy of history and his depiction of “Negroes” as natural slaves.

Kantian Cosmopolitanism and the Challenge of its Racist Prejudices

“…Autrement dit, selon elle, « Kant semble beaucoup plus préoccupé par les ramifications déstabilisantes pour un ordre mondial eurocentrique que par le sort des esclaves. » 11 Outre cette lecture critique, d'autres commentateurs de Kant, comme Olivier Eberl et Pauline Kleingeld, ont tenté de défendre la cohérence de la pensée kantienne. Dans son livre Kant and cosmopolitanism : the philosophical ideal of world citizenship, Kleingeld soutient avec force que le diagnostic des préjugés racistes de Kant est limité à la période 1764 à 1790.…”

What is a black radical Kantianism without Du Bois? On method, principle, and abolition democracy

“…Even if one believes that Kant eventually condemns slavery, his mature political theory does not redress the plight of ex‐slaves nor propose to incorporate them on an equal civic footing into a polity. On the contrary, Kant entertains anti‐abolitionist sentiments that “freed ‘Negro slaves’ all became ‘tramps’” who would eventually die off (Lu‐Adler, 2022, p. 264; Pascoe, 2022, p. 27). Were one to simply disregard these vile comments, it is not clear that the ideal of public right offers much guidance for rethinking the concrete free and equal terms of political belonging.…”

“…5 5 Kant's “second thoughts” about race is not pertinent to BRK, although some challenge the textual evidence in support of Kleingeld's view. For further discussion, see Lu‐Adler (2022), pp. 263–94) and Lu‐Adler (2023), pp.…”

“…18 18 BRK's premise that abolition necessarily supports the democratic authority of ex‐slaves is not Kant's premise (Lu‐Adler, 2022, pp. 271–75). …”

Charles Mills’ ‘Black Radical Kantianism’ as a Plot Twist for Kant Studies and Contemporary Kantian-Liberal Political Philosophy

“… 10 For a historical and philosophical refutation of Kleingeld’s thesis that Kant changes his mind about race in the last decade of his life, see Bernasconi 2011; see also Valdez 2017 and Lu-Adler 2022c. …”