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In the framework of the Benjamin Lectures – and the associated Benjamin Chair at the Centre for Social Critique – a distinguished philosopher is invited each year, to present the broader public with current debates on key social and political issues. In 2025, Tommie Shelby will hold the Benjamin Chair.
The Benjamin Lectures by Tommie Shelby entitled „Political Ethics of the Oppressed: Freedom, Solidarity, and Self-Respect“ was given on the 18th, 19th and 20th of June 2025 at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10 in Berlin.
This opening lecture lays the groundwork for the discussion to come. It has three main goals. First, it introduces the idea of the political ethics of the oppressed and explains its place within philosophy. Second, relying on the writings of Richard Wright, it introduces the Black Radical Tradition’s approach to racial and class-based oppression. And third, it offers a general conception of solidarity among the oppressed and explains the role of such solidarity in just political causes.
By @CriticalTheoryinBerlin (Youtube)
