PART4: "Dead White Men: Philosophy and Cultural Diversity"

Presented by Daniel Bourke

For the fourth lecture in this series, we consider the topic of philosophy and cultural diversity.

The history of philosophy is becoming harder to formally study in Australia: There is the continued dominance of analytic philosophy, which typically does not value a historical perspective; There is the ongoing downsizing of philosophy departments by the universities; And there is the internalization of neo-liberal attitudes by academics, who feel pressured to focus on being ‘innovative’. Nevertheless, to the extent that the history of philosophy is taught, the curriculum remains focused almost exclusively upon the so-called Western ‘canon’. Students are introduced to the thought of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Leibniz, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Locke and so forth. It would seem that the study of philosophy is overwhelmingly the study of ‘dead white men.’ Some argue that philosophy departments are therefore in need of radical reform, to make their content more reflective of cultural diversity. To treat only western philosophy as ‘real’ philosophy, the argument goes, is a result of an insufficiently interrogated Euro-centric, colonialist perspective.

In this lecture, I will initially relate this problem to the culture wars of the present day. On the right, we have the appropriation of dead, white, male philosophers as symbols of the supposed superiority of ‘Western Civilization’, which is then claimed to be under attack by ‘cultural Marxists.’ On the left, these same figures are conversely increasingly viewed as figureheads for all things conservative, patriarchal, and racist. I will then try to push beyond these two camps by arguing for a critical, historical perspective on our present-day situation: ‘modernity.’ The study of the history of western philosophy, I argue, is of almost singular importance for understanding our modern age and its attendant crises.

SERIES DESCRIPTION

Our past decade has featured an intensification of conflicts surrounding identity, belonging, and difference. As such, ​how we and others forge our identities in line with who and what we belong to has reasserted itself as a central question of our current socio-political situation. Crises of global proportions—climate change, mass migration, economic collapse—have been met with either calls for inclusive international collaboration, or exclusive national interest and security. At the same time, multiculturalism and internationalism have come into conflict with the re-emergence and normalisation of nationalist, protectionist and xenophobic social movements. In the “Western” world in particular, what has been described as "identity politics" has become the central concern of socio-political activism across the political spectrum. The scrutiny and contest of representations of identities of gender, race and sexuality in the media have consequently become a predominant focus of both progressive and conservative voices alike.

These conflicts raise questions both new and old: with our increasingly atomised and fractured communities, to what or who do we belong, if anything? In what ways do notions such as culture, race, gender and sexuality enable and constrain practices of amelioration and emancipation? How do all of us understand, belong to and participate in a history that precedes us, and an uncertain future that lays before us?

In this series of lectures, we hope to open up a space of dialogue in order to engage with ways of thinking about belonging, identity and difference, and throughout we will discuss the possibility of seeing our shared future differently. Each lecture will last roughly 45 minutes to 1 hour and will be followed by questions and conversation.

We invite you to join us for a night of ideas, discussion and drinks as we ask what it means to be human in our contemporary world.

No knowledge of philosophy is required; everyone is welcome to attend.

All refreshments and food are available for purchase from Clancy’s Fish Pub, Fremantle.