A Philosophy of Struggle: The Leonard Harris Reader

by Leonard Harris, Lee A. McBride III (Editor)

Overview

Collating, for the first time, the key writings of Leonard Harris, this volume introduces readers to a leading figure in African-American and liberatory thought.

Harris' writings on honor, insurrectionist ethics, tradition, and his work on Alain Locke have established him as a leading figure in critical philosophy. His timely and urgent responses to structural racism and structural violence mark him out as a bold cultural commentator and a deft theoretician.

The wealth and depth of Harris' writings are brought to the fore in this collection and the incisive introduction by Lee McBride serves to orient, contextualize, and frame an oeuvre that spans four decades. In his prolegomenon, Harris eschews the classical meaning of “philosophy,” supplanting it with an idiosyncratic conception of philosophy-philosophia nata ex conatu-that features an avowedly value-laden dimension. As well as serving as an introduction to Harris' philosophy, A Philosophy of Struggle provides new insights into how we ought conceptualize philosophy, race, tradition, and insurrection in the 21st century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350084223
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	04/30/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Leonard Harris is Professor of Philosophy at Purdue University, USA. He is a specialist in the work of Alain LeRoy Locke and a founding member of Philosophy Born of Struggle (PBOS).

Lee A. McBride III is Associate Professor of Philosophy at The College of Wooster, USA.
Lee A. McBride III is Professor of Philosophy at the College of Wooster, USA. He is the editor of A Philosophy of Struggle: The Leonard Harris Reader (Bloomsbury, 2020).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Source Acknowledgements

Editor's Introduction

Part I Prolegomenon
1) What, then, is 'Philosophy Born of Struggle'?Philosophia nata ex conatu

Part II Immiseration and Racism (Oppression as Necro-being)
2) The Concept of Racism: An Essentially Contested Concept? (1998)
3) What, Then, Is Racism? (1999)
4) Necro-Being: An Actuarial Account of Racism (2018)

Part III Honor and Dignity (Reason and Efficacious Agency)
5) Autonomy Under Duress (1992)
6) Honor: Emasculation and Empowerment (1992)
7) Tolerance, Reconciliation and Groups (2003)
8) Dignity and Subjection (2018)

Part IV An Ethics of Insurrection; Or, Leaving the Asylum (Virtues of Tenacity)
9) Honor and Insurrection or A Short Story about why John Brown (with David Walker's Spirit) was Right and Frederick Douglass (with Benjamin Banneker's Spirit) was Wrong (1999)
10) Insurrectionist Ethics: Advocacy, Moral Psychology, and Pragmatism (2002)
11) Can a Pragmatist Recite A Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note? Or Insurrectionist Challenges to Pragmatism-Walker, Child, and Locke (2018)

Part V Bridges to Future Traditions
12) Universal Human Liberation: Community and Multiculturalism (1998)
13) Community: What Type of Entity and What Type of Moral Commitment? (2001)
14) Tradition and Modernity: Panopticons and Barricados
15) The Horror of Tradition or How to Burn Babylon and Build Benin While Reading A Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note (1997)
16) Telos and Tradition: Making the Future-Bridges to Future Traditions (2014)

Editorial Reviews

"This book includes the main texts that have marked out Leonard Harris' continuing combat against all that separate humans from other humans, the human from her humanity. And as we feel the wind blowing through the pages of this Reader, we are reminded that the demand for radical questioning and examination which defines philosophy is first and foremost a force of emancipation." --Souleymane Bachir Diagne, Professor of Philosophy, Columbia University, USA

"A Philosophy Born of Struggle: The Leonard Harris Reader, is the only collection of its kind. Leonard Harris pioneered this field of philosophy more than 30 years ago, and this collection shows the extent to which he has defined the field. This is a must read for students within philosophy, especially those within the field of philosophy of race, African and Africana philosophy and philosophies of liberation. This long awaited collection is a global phenomenon as Harris has produced a collection that will enrich the lives of all us across the globe who have for many years followed his work and shared them with others. This is without doubt a monumental read!" --Rozena Maart, Professor of Philosophy. University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

"A timely collection of Leonard Harris' essays, this book portrays a philosophy born not of wonder but of struggle - a philosophy deeply rooted in the reality of human experiences riddled with genocide, exploitation, and misery - to name but a few. As a leading contemporary thinker, Harris approaches vital topics such as racism, honor and dignity, insurrectionist ethics in a uniquely insightful way that takes the contingency of this universe seriously." --Luca Maria Scarantino, President, International Federation of Philosophical Societies, Italy

"Leonard Harris is a true pioneer of Africana Philosophy. This valuable collection of his writings will serve as a great introduction to his work, making clear his contrarianism, his refusal to abide by the conventional wisdom, and his militant and unwavering commitment to bringing about a more just society (especially since the arc of the moral universe has been doing such a bad job!)." --Charles W. Mills, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, The Graduate Centre, City University of New York, USA

From the Publisher