Slavery in Early Modern Philosophy 1765-1800

Abstract This volume comprises forty-five philosophical texts about slavery that were composed in Europe and America between 1765 and 1800, during the first major transnational abolitionist movement. It is essential reading for any scholar, instructor, and student of the history of philosophy, the history of moral and political thought, and the history of race and racism. The selected texts—some of which weren’t previously available in English or in modern editions—discuss many aspects of slavery, and from many different perspectives. They were composed by enslaved and formerly enslaved antislavery authors, their allies, and a few of their opponents. These sources demonstrate that the debate about slavery in the late eighteenth century was remarkably multifaceted and philosophically sophisticated. Some authors base their arguments on the moral principles embraced by revolutionaries in France and America, such as the principle that all humans have an inalienable right to liberty; others draw on different moral frameworks such as utilitarianism, natural law theory, social contract theory, and biblical ethics. In addition to arguments for and against the moral permissibility of transatlantic slavery, the selected texts examine a host of related philosophical issues, such as complicity, reparations, racial bias, the right to rebel, the effects of enslavement on the human mind, and the epistemic dimensions of oppression.