R&L Logo R&L Logo
  • GENERAL
    • Browse by Subjects
    • New Releases
    • Coming Soon
    • Chases's Calendar
  • ACADEMIC
    • Textbooks
    • Browse by Course
    • Instructor's Copies
    • Monographs & Research
    • Reference
  • PROFESSIONAL
    • Education
    • Intelligence & Security
    • Library Services
    • Business & Leadership
    • Museum Studies
    • Music
    • Pastoral Resources
    • Psychotherapy
  • FREUD SET
Cover Image
Hardback
Paperback
eBook
share of facebook share on twitter
Add to GoodReads

Ontological Branding

Power, Privilege, and White Supremacy in a Colorblind World

Bonard Iván Molina García

Using Heideggerian tool ontology to investigate antiblack racism in the United States, Ontological Branding: Power, Privilege, and White Supremacy in a Colorblind World provides a novel account of race and racial justice. Bonard Iván Molina García argues that race is best understood as a tool to brand persons of color, particularly Black persons, as subordinate in order to privilege whiteness as the proper state of persons in a world created by and for persons and in which all (and only) persons are equal. Persons of color, particularly Black persons, are thus excluded from full participation in the rights and privileges of personhood and instead relegated to ways of being in service to the white world. This white supremacist system was created through law, and despite significant changes, U.S. law’s current approach to racial justice through colorblindness only serves to safeguard white supremacy. Racial justice instead requires a critical race consciousness that accounts for the ontology of race. Racial justice requires ontological justice.

  • Details
  • Details
  • Author
  • Author
  • TOC
  • TOC
  • Reviews
  • Reviews
Lexington Books
Pages: 150 • Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜
978-1-66690-235-8 • Hardback • September 2022 • $100.00 • (£77.00)
978-1-66690-237-2 • Paperback • August 2023 • $39.99 • (£30.00)
978-1-66690-236-5 • eBook • September 2022 • $38.00 • (£30.00)
Series: Philosophy of Race
Subjects: Philosophy / Movements / Phenomenology, Law / Discrimination, Social Science / Race & Ethnic Relations

Bonard Iván Molina García is an international arbitration attorney and independent scholar based in Washington D.C.

Introduction

Chapter 1: Tool Ontology

Chapter 2: Ontological Brands

Chapter 3: A Genealogy of (White) America

Chapter 4: The Pale and Inconspicuous Presence

Chapter 5: Ontological Justice as Racial Justice

Conclusion

Bibliography

About the Author

With his analysis of "ontological branding," Bonard Iván Molina García illuminates the ways that racial power is exercised without the intent or decision of any actor at all, as just part of what is taken for granted within the dominant mode of consciousness that Molina García unpacks so well. Molina García's central idea, that being itself is central to and a factor in the grammar of racial ideology, draws on difficult philosophical concepts that he renders both accessible and compelling. Molina García makes important contributions to the study of how race works in a liberal society that proclaims itself colorblind. Ontological Branding is a powerful and sophisticated new work of critical race theory.


— Gary Peller, Georgetown University


A thoughtful, occasionally personal take on the complex and perennial problems of racial identity, subordination, and law. Using a classic philosophical approach to theories of being, Bonard Molina García invites us to think about what is so special about being a person, and therefore what is so destructive about the legacy and burdens of racism.


— Alexandra Natapoff, Harvard Law School


Ontological Branding offers some important insights on the superstructure of inequality in America and beyond, demonstrating how racism and other forms of oppression can persist beyond the conscious acts of malicious individuals. Here is a framework worth expanding upon in future scholarship, especially as regards the role of class throughout history, given that the bodies of serfs or the proletariat were literally regarded as tools for their rulers and employers. Molina García offers a real model for the application of Heidegger’s tool ontology far beyond matters of race and American history, potentially reshaping how we regard the nature of oppression at large.


— Marx and Philosophy Review of Books


Ontological Branding

Power, Privilege, and White Supremacy in a Colorblind World

Cover Image
Hardback
Paperback
eBook
Summary
Summary
  • Using Heideggerian tool ontology to investigate antiblack racism in the United States, Ontological Branding: Power, Privilege, and White Supremacy in a Colorblind World provides a novel account of race and racial justice. Bonard Iván Molina García argues that race is best understood as a tool to brand persons of color, particularly Black persons, as subordinate in order to privilege whiteness as the proper state of persons in a world created by and for persons and in which all (and only) persons are equal. Persons of color, particularly Black persons, are thus excluded from full participation in the rights and privileges of personhood and instead relegated to ways of being in service to the white world. This white supremacist system was created through law, and despite significant changes, U.S. law’s current approach to racial justice through colorblindness only serves to safeguard white supremacy. Racial justice instead requires a critical race consciousness that accounts for the ontology of race. Racial justice requires ontological justice.

Details
Details
  • Lexington Books
    Pages: 150 • Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜
    978-1-66690-235-8 • Hardback • September 2022 • $100.00 • (£77.00)
    978-1-66690-237-2 • Paperback • August 2023 • $39.99 • (£30.00)
    978-1-66690-236-5 • eBook • September 2022 • $38.00 • (£30.00)
    Series: Philosophy of Race
    Subjects: Philosophy / Movements / Phenomenology, Law / Discrimination, Social Science / Race & Ethnic Relations
Author
Author
  • Bonard Iván Molina García is an international arbitration attorney and independent scholar based in Washington D.C.

Table of Contents
Table of Contents
  • Introduction

    Chapter 1: Tool Ontology

    Chapter 2: Ontological Brands

    Chapter 3: A Genealogy of (White) America

    Chapter 4: The Pale and Inconspicuous Presence

    Chapter 5: Ontological Justice as Racial Justice

    Conclusion

    Bibliography

    About the Author

Reviews
Reviews
  • With his analysis of "ontological branding," Bonard Iván Molina García illuminates the ways that racial power is exercised without the intent or decision of any actor at all, as just part of what is taken for granted within the dominant mode of consciousness that Molina García unpacks so well. Molina García's central idea, that being itself is central to and a factor in the grammar of racial ideology, draws on difficult philosophical concepts that he renders both accessible and compelling. Molina García makes important contributions to the study of how race works in a liberal society that proclaims itself colorblind. Ontological Branding is a powerful and sophisticated new work of critical race theory.


    — Gary Peller, Georgetown University


    A thoughtful, occasionally personal take on the complex and perennial problems of racial identity, subordination, and law. Using a classic philosophical approach to theories of being, Bonard Molina García invites us to think about what is so special about being a person, and therefore what is so destructive about the legacy and burdens of racism.


    — Alexandra Natapoff, Harvard Law School


    Ontological Branding offers some important insights on the superstructure of inequality in America and beyond, demonstrating how racism and other forms of oppression can persist beyond the conscious acts of malicious individuals. Here is a framework worth expanding upon in future scholarship, especially as regards the role of class throughout history, given that the bodies of serfs or the proletariat were literally regarded as tools for their rulers and employers. Molina García offers a real model for the application of Heidegger’s tool ontology far beyond matters of race and American history, potentially reshaping how we regard the nature of oppression at large.


    — Marx and Philosophy Review of Books


ALSO AVAILABLE

  • Cover image for the book Heidegger's Being and Time: Paraphrased and Annotated, Volume 1
  • Cover image for the book American Camino: Walking as Spiritual Practice on the Appalachian Trail
  • Cover image for the book Heidegger in the Islamicate World
  • Cover image for the book Before God: Exercises in Subjectivity
  • Cover image for the book Edith Stein's On the Problem of Empathy: A Companion
  • Cover image for the book From Heidegger to Performance
  • Cover image for the book Edith Stein and Edmund Husserl: Philosophical Exchanges
  • Cover image for the book Postphenomenology and Technologies within Educational Settings
  • Cover image for the book Time and Trauma: Thinking Through Heidegger in the Thirties
  • Cover image for the book Existential Medicine: Essays on Health and Illness
  • Cover image for the book Heidegger's Phenomenology of Perception: An Introduction, Volume I
  • Cover image for the book Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology of Language
  • Cover image for the book A Phenomenology for Women of Color: Merleau-Ponty and Identity-in-Difference
  • Cover image for the book Homo Interpretans: Towards a Transformation of Hermeneutics
  • Cover image for the book Confronting Heidegger: A Critical Dialogue on Politics and Philosophy
  • Cover image for the book Rethinking Feminist Phenomenology: Theoretical and Applied Perspectives
  • Cover image for the book Race as Phenomena: Between Phenomenology and Philosophy of Race
  • Cover image for the book Contexts of Suffering: A Heideggerian Approach to Psychopathology
  • Cover image for the book Modernity and Technology: A Philosophical Investigation of Martin Heidegger and Bruno Latour
  • Cover image for the book Making Sense of Heidegger: A Paradigm Shift
  • Cover image for the book The Question Concerning the Thing: On Kant's Doctrine of the Transcendental Principles
  • Cover image for the book Heidegger and the Holy
  • Cover image for the book Heidegger Becoming Phenomenological: Interpreting Husserl through Dilthey, 1916–1925
  • Cover image for the book Spacious Joy: An Essay in Phenomenology and Literature
  • Cover image for the book Correspondence 1949-1975
  • Cover image for the book Reframing Twentieth-Century French Philosophy: The Roots of Desire
  • Cover image for the book Europe, Phenomenology, and Politics in Husserl and Patočka
  • Cover image for the book The Politics of Attention and the Promise of Mindfulness
  • Cover image for the book Thought Poems: A Translation of Heidegger's Verse
  • Cover image for the book The Lived Experience of Forgiveness: Phenomenological and Psychological Perspectives
  • Cover image for the book Sartre and the Phenomenology of Education: Education for Resistance
  • Cover image for the book Wonder, Silence, and Human Flourishing: Toward a Rehumanization of Health, Education, and Welfare
  • Cover image for the book Generative Worlds: New Phenomenological Perspectives on Space and Time
  • Cover image for the book Postphenomenological Investigations: Essays on Human–Technology Relations
  • Cover image for the book The Phenomenology of Revelation in Heidegger, Marion, and Ricoeur
  • Cover image for the book Heidegger's Being and Time: Paraphrased and Annotated, Volume 1
  • Cover image for the book American Camino: Walking as Spiritual Practice on the Appalachian Trail
  • Cover image for the book Heidegger in the Islamicate World
  • Cover image for the book Before God: Exercises in Subjectivity
  • Cover image for the book Edith Stein's On the Problem of Empathy: A Companion
  • Cover image for the book From Heidegger to Performance
  • Cover image for the book Edith Stein and Edmund Husserl: Philosophical Exchanges
  • Cover image for the book Postphenomenology and Technologies within Educational Settings
  • Cover image for the book Time and Trauma: Thinking Through Heidegger in the Thirties
  • Cover image for the book Existential Medicine: Essays on Health and Illness
  • Cover image for the book Heidegger's Phenomenology of Perception: An Introduction, Volume I
  • Cover image for the book Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology of Language
  • Cover image for the book A Phenomenology for Women of Color: Merleau-Ponty and Identity-in-Difference
  • Cover image for the book Homo Interpretans: Towards a Transformation of Hermeneutics
  • Cover image for the book Confronting Heidegger: A Critical Dialogue on Politics and Philosophy
  • Cover image for the book Rethinking Feminist Phenomenology: Theoretical and Applied Perspectives
  • Cover image for the book Race as Phenomena: Between Phenomenology and Philosophy of Race
  • Cover image for the book Contexts of Suffering: A Heideggerian Approach to Psychopathology
  • Cover image for the book Modernity and Technology: A Philosophical Investigation of Martin Heidegger and Bruno Latour
  • Cover image for the book Making Sense of Heidegger: A Paradigm Shift
  • Cover image for the book The Question Concerning the Thing: On Kant's Doctrine of the Transcendental Principles
  • Cover image for the book Heidegger and the Holy
  • Cover image for the book Heidegger Becoming Phenomenological: Interpreting Husserl through Dilthey, 1916–1925
  • Cover image for the book Spacious Joy: An Essay in Phenomenology and Literature
  • Cover image for the book Correspondence 1949-1975
  • Cover image for the book Reframing Twentieth-Century French Philosophy: The Roots of Desire
  • Cover image for the book Europe, Phenomenology, and Politics in Husserl and Patočka
  • Cover image for the book The Politics of Attention and the Promise of Mindfulness
  • Cover image for the book Thought Poems: A Translation of Heidegger's Verse
  • Cover image for the book The Lived Experience of Forgiveness: Phenomenological and Psychological Perspectives
  • Cover image for the book Sartre and the Phenomenology of Education: Education for Resistance
  • Cover image for the book Wonder, Silence, and Human Flourishing: Toward a Rehumanization of Health, Education, and Welfare
  • Cover image for the book Generative Worlds: New Phenomenological Perspectives on Space and Time
  • Cover image for the book Postphenomenological Investigations: Essays on Human–Technology Relations
  • Cover image for the book The Phenomenology of Revelation in Heidegger, Marion, and Ricoeur
facebook icon twitter icon instagram icon linked in icon NEWSLETTERS
ABOUT US
  • Mission Statement
  • Employment
  • Privacy
  • Accessibility Statement
CONTACT
  • Company Directory
  • Publicity and Media Queries
  • Rights and Permissions
  • Textbook Resource Center
AUTHOR RESOURCES
  • Royalty Contact
  • Production Guidelines
  • Manuscript Submissions
ORDERING INFORMATION
  • Rowman & Littlefield
  • National Book Network
  • Ingram Publisher Services UK
  • Special Sales
  • International Sales
  • eBook Partners
  • Digital Catalogs
IMPRINTS
  • Rowman & Littlefield
  • Lexington Books
  • Hamilton Books
  • Applause Books
  • Amadeus Press
  • Backbeat Books
  • Bernan
  • Hal Leonard Books
  • Limelight Editions
  • Co-Publishing Partners
  • Globe Pequot
  • Down East Books
  • Falcon Guides
  • Gooseberry Patch
  • Lyons Press
  • Muddy Boots
  • Pineapple Press
  • TwoDot Books
  • Stackpole Books
PARTNERS
  • American Alliance of Museums
  • American Association for State and Local History
  • Brookings Institution Press
  • Center for Strategic & International Studies
  • Council on Foreign Relations
  • Fairleigh Dickinson University Press
  • Fortress Press
  • The Foundation for Critical Thinking
  • Lehigh University Press
  • United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
  • Other Partners...