Date of Award

Spring 4-29-2024

Document Type

Honors Project

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Classics, Philosophy, and Religion

Department Chair or Program Director

Romero,Joseph

First Advisor

Reno,Michael

Second Advisor

Matzke,Jason

Major or Concentration

Philosophy (Pre-Law Concentration)

Abstract

This paper examines the interplay between the intellectual movements of enlightenment, the economic system of capitalism, and the manifestation of violent racist ideologies like antisemitism and anti-black racism. The core argument is that while the enlightenment ideals of reason, universality, and human dominance over nature inherently set the stage for categorizing and objectifying groups seen as deviating from the desired uniformity, the emergence of extreme racist violence like the Holocaust requires the additional factors of a failing capitalist economy and the rise of totalitarian governments. In the modern American context, racist thought persists in the more covert form of color-blindness. A rhetorical denial of racial categories that performatively pushes back against enlightenment. This aligns with Sartre's critique of how democratic society rationalizes racism through abstract ideals disconnected from lived experience. Ultimately, the security and productive roles provided by a well-functioning capitalist economy are vital for containing the violent manifestations of racist ideologies that theories of enlightenment perpetuate.

Download

Share

COinS