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Notes on show:  Original  Airdate  2/7/2006 		 
Topic: W.E.B. DuBois
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Guest:

Lucius Outlaw

Lucius Outlaw; Professor of Philosophy and Associate Provost, Undergraduate Education, Vanderbilt University
What is it?

The Philosophers discuss the life and ideas of W.E.B. Dubois (1868-1963).  Sociologist, historian, philosopher, editor, writer, and activist, he was one of the most influential intellectuals of the twentieth century.  The first African-American Ph.D. from Harvard University, Dubois died in Ghana after having renounced his American citizenship.  In between he co-founded the NAACP and wrote The Souls of Black Folk (1903) as well as a number of other influential books that had a decisive impact on the development of African-American culture in the twentieth century.

 

Listening Notes

Ken remarks that DuBois was a highly critical thinker who was largely ignored by philosophy until recently. John thinks that he fits into the history of philosophy between the transcendentalists, pragmatists, and existentialism. DuBois had a concept of double consciousness, one consciousness of what we do based on our first-person narrative and another consciousness of how other people see us. DuBois thought that it was particularly difficult for African-Americans to reconcile these two. Ken introduces the guest, Lucius Outlaw, professor of philosophy at Vanderbilt University. Outlaw says that DuBois was driven to leave the academy because, after he saw the violence of racism, he felt rational discussion was not the way to change the status quo.

DuBois argued against Booker T. Washington's program of slow integration. Outlaw thinks that this confrontation was a big moment in DuBois's development. DuBois thought that it was easy to misinterpret Washington's message as accommodating racism and he also thought that education was essential to changing the social status of African-Americans. DuBois argued that racial groups are created through historical and cultural facts, not biological facts. How can DuBois then claim that African-Americans and Ghanaians are of the same race? Outlaw thinks that there will be some non-trivial similarities and some non-trivial differences. Outlaw thinks that it will be conceptually complex.

Would a colorblind society eliminate race problems? DuBois did not think that it would solve any problems. Outlaw thinks DuBois wanted a world of diverse peoples who had their own histories and shared them with everyone. The concepts of race are recent constructions. Ken suggests getting rid of them since they are so problematic. DuBois emphasizes that race is important because it has been so central to the development of humanity. Outlaw closes by saying that he thinks the problem of the color line will remain a big problem in the next century.

  • Polly Stryker the Roving Philosophical Reporter (Seek to 04:45): Pauli Stryker interviews Michelle Elam about DuBois's message in The Souls of Black Folk, Lanier Anderson about the social message of DuBois's work, and Arnold Rampersad about DuBois on race.
  • Conundrum (Seek to 46:45): Anne from Portland, OR is a quilter who was asked to make some quilts for the children of a close friend. The children blew her off for a year, and Anne does not want to give them the quilts although she had intended to give them to them. She asks whether she should give them the quilts or punish them by giving the quilts to another friend?

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