PHILOSOPHY AND THE PROBLEM OF RACISM: CRITICAL REFLECTION ON THE METAPHYSICAL DISTINCTION BETWEEN SUBSTANCE AND ACCIDENT

Bonaventure Chike Anetoh

Abstract


This article examines the contributions of philosophy in combating the problem of racism in the world with particular reference to the metaphysical distinction between substance and accident. There are racial groups in the world, and people of the same race share similar physical characteristic. The problem of racism is one of the major problems bedeviling the world. The fundamental questions are: Can the problem of racism in the world be solved? Has philosophy any solution to offer in this regard? Can the metaphysical distinction between substance and accident be instrumental in addressing the problem of racism in the world? Does the metaphysical concept of substance portray the fact of common essence of all human beings in the world irrespective of races or racial affiliations? This article employs basically analytical and hermeneutical methods of philosophical investigation. It argues that philosophy has an indispensable role to play in this regard, and such can be realized through a critical reflection on the metaphysical distinction between substance and accident. Substance is the essence of a being or what makes a being what it is, while accidents are the attributes that inhere in a substance. We are essentially and fundamentally rational human beings. That one is white or dark in skin colour, tall or short in height, from this racial group or the other, are all accidents. This article argues that race or racial group is accidental and not essential or substantial to our existence as human beings in the world. Attention to this would enable us rise above racism and seek for what unites us as human and rational beings in the world. Clinging to race is like leaving the substance and pursuing the shadow. This article maintains that if one pays less attention to racial group which is accidental and not essential to one’s being, global integration as well as peaceful co-existence between different people in the world can be achieved to a reasonable extent.

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