What is Racism? or; How Philosophy can be ‘Practical’, by Gedaliah Braun

WHAT IS RACISM? OR, HOW PHILOSOPHY CAN BE ‘PRACTICAL’

Excerpt Racism, Guilt, Self-Hatred and Self-Deceit, by Gedaliah Braun Ph.D.

Racism, Guilt, Self-Hatred and Self-Deceit: A Philosophers Hard-Headed Look at the Dark Continent, by Gedaliah Braun [AmRen]

• Outline of Principal Theses
  
• What Racism Is Not
  
• Moral vs. Nonmoral Badness
  
• What Kinds of Things Can Be Racist?
  
• A Philosophical Touchstone
  
• Can an Idea Be Racist?
  
• Propositions Are ‘Pictures’ of Facts
  
• Can a Fact Be Racist?
  
• Conventional Wisdom Embodies Philosophical Error
  
• What Racism Is
  
• Two Senses of Belief
  
• Which Kind of Belief Can Be Racist?
  
• A Belief Can Be Racist Only Because Of the Manner In Which It Is Held
  
• If a Belief Is Honest It Cannot Be Bad and If It Is Not Bad It Cannot Be Racist
  
• Why Neither Truth Nor Falsity Determines Whether a Belief Is Racist
  
• The Essence of Racism Is Self-Deceit: Believing What You Know Isn’t True
  
• While Content Never Makes Belief Racist It Can Be Good Indication Of It

Outline of Principal Theses

The Hon. James David Manning, PhD gives a call to arms for white people of truth

Determining the nature of racism is a philosophical issue. Nevertheless, it is of great practical importance and I would argue that many of the West’s racial problems arise from a mistake thereof.

To be accused of racism is to be condemned. But (I claim) no fact or idea can itself be racist. Therefore the idea of racial differences is neither racist nor bad and hence is insulting to no one.

At present all political discussion in the West is based on the assumption that the idea of such differences is racist – a philosophical error with fateful consequences. If there are such differences and they are not racist, then they should be taken into account in policy-making; but if they are wrongly assumed to be racist and hence swept under the carpet, any policies based on such willful ignorance are doomed to failure.


What Racism Is Not

The question What is racism? is philosophical, not sociological, anthropological or linguistic. It is nevertheless a question of enormous practical importance, and I will argue that most of the racial problems facing South Africa and the West arise because of certain false assumptions in this regard.

While agreeing that racism is bad, we must ask just what this means. An earthquake which kills thousands of people that is bad, but it’s not morally bad. We don’t, e.g., condemn it, for the simple reason that it is inanimate and hence doesn’t do things. Earthquakes simply happen; there is no question of moral blame because there is nothing and no one to blame.

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