The Ethics and Mores of Race

Equality after the History of Philosophy, with a New Preface

Naomi Zack

Preeminent philosopher, Naomi Zack, brings us an indispensable work in the ethics of race through an inquiry into the history of moral philosophy. Beginning with Plato and a philosophical tradition that has largely ignored race, The Ethics and Mores of Race: Equality after the History of Philosophy enters into a web of ideas, ethics, and morals that untangle our evolving ideas of racial equality straight into the twenty-first century. The dichotomy between ethics and mores has long aided the separation of what is right with ideas of equality. Zack tackles the co-existence of slavery with the classic moral systems and continues to show how our society has evolved and our mores with it. An ethics of race may not exist yet, but this book gives us twelve discerning requirements to establish it.
In the preface to the paperback edition, Zack addresses the criticisms raised in response to this book and concludes that a focus on rights and justice, rather than privilege, is the only fruitful pathway towards a functioning ethics of race.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 220 • Trim: 6 x 8¾

978-1-4422-1126-1 • Paperback • April 2015 • $47.00 • (£36.00)

978-1-4422-4912-7 • eBook • April 2015 • $44.50 • (£32.00)

Subjects: Philosophy / History & Surveys / General, Philosophy / Ethics & Moral Philosophy, Philosophy / Political

The Ethics and Mores of Race

Equality after the History of Philosophy, with a New Preface

Paperback

eBook

Summary

Preeminent philosopher, Naomi Zack, brings us an indispensable work in the ethics of race through an inquiry into the history of moral philosophy. Beginning with Plato and a philosophical tradition that has largely ignored race, The Ethics and Mores of Race: Equality after the History of Philosophy enters into a web of ideas, ethics, and morals that untangle our evolving ideas of racial equality straight into the twenty-first century. The dichotomy between ethics and mores has long aided the separation of what is right with ideas of equality. Zack tackles the co-existence of slavery with the classic moral systems and continues to show how our society has evolved and our mores with it. An ethics of race may not exist yet, but this book gives us twelve discerning requirements to establish it.
In the preface to the paperback edition, Zack addresses the criticisms raised in response to this book and concludes that a focus on rights and justice, rather than privilege, is the only fruitful pathway towards a functioning ethics of race.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 220 • Trim: 6 x 8¾

978-1-4422-1126-1 • Paperback • April 2015 • $47.00 • (£36.00)

978-1-4422-4912-7 • eBook • April 2015 • $44.50 • (£32.00)

Subjects: Philosophy / History & Surveys / General, Philosophy / Ethics & Moral Philosophy, Philosophy / Political

Author

Naomi Zack is a professor of philosophy at the University of Oregon.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Acknowledgments
Chapter 2 Introduction: Ethics, Mores, and Race
Chapter 3 Chapter 1: Plato and Aristotle's Invention of Race
Chapter 4 Chapter 2: Cosmopolitan Contributions to an Ethics of Race
Chapter 5 Chapter 3: Natural Law and Inequality
Chapter 6 Chapter 4: Moral Law and Slavery
Chapter 7 Chapter 5: Christian Metaphysics and Inequality
Chapter 8 Chapter 6: Social Contract Theory and the Sovereign Nation State
Chapter 9 Chapter 7: Deontology, Utilitarianism, and Rights
Chapter 10 Conclusion: Egalitarian Humanism and Requirements for an Ethics of Race
Chapter 11 Select Bibliography
Chapter 12 About the Author

Reviews

Naomi Zack's magisterial and monumental work in the ethics of race is an intellectual tour-de-force that takes the reader on an exciting scholarly journey through the history of moral philosophy. Zack is both a philosophical detective combing the history of moral philosophy and a constructive theoretician who in the end give us twelve rich, original, and insightful requirements for an ethics of race.
— Jason D. Hill, De Paul University

This lucidly written book emphasizes the important distinction between ethics and mores and demonstrates how dominance of the latter poses challenges for struggles against racism. Arguing for egalitarian humanism, Naomi Zack advances an outline for what she calls “an ethics of race,” a critical position encompassing several considerations for living in a world riddled by a minefield of racial impositions and challenges. The virtues of this book are many. It brings nuance to Zack's nearly two decades of work on problems of race and racism, and it outlines the terrain of ethics and moral philosophy (the normative landscape) in ways accessible to students and thought-provoking for scholars in the fields of ethics, political thought, and critical race theory.
— Lewis R. Gordon, professor of philosophy and Africana studies, University of Connecticut

Most books on ethics and race have focused on applied ethics issues, like affirmative action. In this highly original and challenging discussion, Naomi Zack sets out to answer a different and harder question: how to construct an "ethics of race" in the light of the history of ethics in Western philosophy.
— Charles Mills, John Evans Professor of Moral and Intellectual Philosophy, Northwestern University