Political Ethics of the Oppressed

Formulating and defending a distinctive ethics of the oppressed is perhaps the black radical tradition’s chief contribution to social and political philosophy. The tradition’s most significant thinkers—for example, Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells, and Martin Luther King, Jr—were certainly concerned with diagnosing the deepest ills of society, identifying effective strategies for liberation, and articulating a vision for a just and peaceful world. But they were also concerned to understand how to live a defensible and dignified life under enduring oppressive conditions. Given that full emancipation was a long-term and uncertain goal, achievable (if at all) only over many generations, they recognized that it was imperative to identify the values and character traits that black people and other oppressed groups must embody if they are, not only to survive and win their freedom, but to find meaning and purpose in lives profoundly shaped by injustice.

In exploring the political ethics of the oppressed, these lectures draw lessons from and build upon the philosophical fiction and literary nonfiction of Richard Wright (1908-1960). Wright is a key figure in the black radical tradition and an influential American author and thinker. In his writings, he repeatedly reflects on the demands of solidarity and self-respect, two core values in any defensible political ethics of resistance. Keeping faith with these values often requires sacrifices from the oppressed. At their core these lectures ask: What is the place of individual liberty—including independence of mind, individuality, freedom of expression, and the quest for personal fulfillment—within the political ethics of the oppressed?

The discussion will be held in English with simultaneous translation into German.

In cooperation with “Critical Theory in Berlin”, The New Institute, Humboldt University Berlin und Haus der Kulturen der Welt.

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