Conclusion

In this free course, What can philosophy tell us about race?, you have been introduced to what philosophy of race is, the kinds of questions philosophers of race ask, and why these questions matter. You have explored the question ‘what is race?’, and examined two answers to this question. You have considered the position that race is a matter of ancestry. You have encountered an objection to this view – that how people use race and assign people to races in everyday life does not depend upon ancestry – and have reflected on your intuitions in hypothetical cases. You have learned about the position that race is a matter of power, and confronted the objection that race is not just about power, but is also about culture.

You have also explored why defining or figuring out what racism is matters, and assessed the case of racial fetishes. Along the way, you learned about the philosophical tool of thought experiments, and how to represent arguments in premise-conclusion form.

This OpenLearn course is an adapted extract from the Open University course DA223 Investigating philosophy [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .