Philosophy For Our Times The Enlightenment is racist (and why) | Kehinde Andrews
Sep 29, 2025
Kehinde Andrews, the UK's first professor of Black Studies, critiques the Enlightenment for its intrinsic racism and colonial roots. He argues that Enlightenment ideas of universal rationality are deeply entwined with structures of colonial violence. Andrews believes we should shift our focus from traditional Western thinkers to Black studies and voices like Malcolm X. He emphasizes the need for systemic change over individual reform to address racism and suggests building alternative institutions to create a more equitable future.
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Enlightenment As Eurocentric Propaganda
- The Enlightenment presented European knowledge as a universal starting point, which Andrews calls propaganda.
- He argues knowledge existed across Africa, Asia and the Middle East long before Europe claimed superiority.
Racism Is Embedded In Canonical Thought
- Key Enlightenment figures like Kant embedded explicit racism within their philosophical systems.
- Andrews insists Kant's moral geography and moral philosophy are inseparable and racially structured.
Universal Rights Preserve Hierarchy
- The concept of abstract rationality in Enlightenment thought is structurally racialized, equating whiteness with reason.
- Universal human rights thus function to preserve a racial hierarchy by protecting life but not guaranteeing prosperity or reparations.
