Racism in Kant's Thought

Öz

Criticisms of the race theory of Immanuel Kant, who is considered one of the most influential philosophers in the history of modern Western philosophy, have been part of Kant discussions for the last few decades. The subject of criticism is that the philosopher's race theory goes beyond a kind of classification that tries to divide people into different biological groups and includes racist ideas that associate innate biological characteristics with character, talent, personality and moral values. Expressions such as dark skin colour being an indicator of mental retardation, the only thing that will make the existence of races other than white people meaningful is to serve white people, and all races other than white people will be wiped out from the face of the earth are among the philosopher's thoughts that are subject to criticism. These thoughts can be considered extreme not only today, but even in the century in which the philosopher lived. On the other hand, Kant's stance against colonialism, his defence of universal equality, and his discourses against slavery are ideas that can be considered progressive even for his time. This contradiction has brought about a debate about whether there is an inconsistency between the philosopher's racist statements and his defence of universal egalitarianism. These discussions, which developed on the basis of the philosopher's racial theory, have not yet been adequately reflected in Turkish resources. This paper aims to contribute to eliminating this deficiency and to ensure that race theory is taken into account as an important variable in evaluations of the philosopher.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Kant
• Racial Theory
• Race
• Racism
• Universal Egalitarianism

Kant Düşüncesinde Irkçılık

Öz

Modern Batı felsefe tarihinin en etkili düşünürlerinden biri kabul edilen Immanuel Kant'ın ırk teorisine yönelik eleştiriler son birkaç on yıldır Kant tartışmalarının bir parçası olmuştur. Eleştiriler, düşünürün ırk teorisinin insanları farklı biyolojik gruplara ayırmaya çalışan bir tür sınıflandırmanın ötesine geçerek doğuştan gelen biyolojik özellikleri karakter, yetenek, kişilik ve ahlaki değerlerle ilişkilendiren ırkçı düşünceler içermesine yöneliktir. Koyu ten renginin zihinsel kapasitedeki geriliğin göstergesi olması, beyaz ırk dışındaki ırkların varlığını anlamlı kılacak tek şeyin beyazlara hizmet etmek olduğu ve beyazlar dışındaki bütün ırkların yeryüzünden silinip gideceği gibi ifadeler filozofun eleştiriye konu edilen düşünceleri arasında yer almaktadır. Bu düşünceler yalnızca günümüzde değil, Kant'ın yaşadığı yüzyılda bile birçok filozof için aşırı sayılabilecek niteliktedir. Diğer taraftan, Kant'ın sömürgeciliğe karşı duruşu, evrensel eşitliği savunması ve kölelik aleyhindeki söylemleri kendi dönemi için bile ilerici sayılabilecek düşüncelerdir. Bu çelişki, filozofun ırkçı ifadeleriyle evrensel eşitlikçilik savunusu arasında tutarsızlık olup olmadığı tartışmasını da beraberinde getirmiştir. Düşünürün ırk teorisi temelinde gelişen bu tartışmalar Türkçe kaynaklara henüz yeterince yansımamış durumdadır. Bu çalışma da bu eksikliğin giderilmesine katkıda bulunmayı ve düşünürle ilgili değerlendirmelerde ırk teorisinin de önemli bir değişken olarak dikkate alınmasını sağlamayı amaçlamaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Kant
• Irk Teorisi
• Irk
• Irkçılık
• Evrensel Eşitlikçilik

Kaynakça

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