A Non-racist Reading of Kant’s Thoughts on Race

In this article, we will argue that the interpretation that Kant was a racist is not based on the main arguments of Kant’s race theory nor on normative discrimination. Furthermore, this interpretation usually relies upon a literal reading of Kant’s notorious statements, which may not always be suitable. To support these arguments, we will lay out Kant’s theory of race in the first chapter, emphasizing the goals and intentions he explicitly stated, and conclude that the central arguments of his theory are non-discriminatory and non-racist. In the second part of the paper, we will present a non-racist reading of some of Kant’s most frequently cited statements. While we do not dispute that Kant’s comments about certain races sound extremely discriminatory, we will argue that we should consider the historical and philosophical context, philological analysis, and arguments surrounding the statement in question when interpreting Kant’s words. Our goal is not to prove conclusively that Kant was not a racist, but to demonstrate that it is possible to interpret Kant’s thoughts on race in a non-racist key, consistent with his normative theories.