The Question of Inclusion in Philosophy

Today, we’re talking with Charles Mills, Linda Alcoff, and Shelley Tremain about a more specific issue than we have in our previous episodes. That said, it’s an issue that we believe connects up with racism and ableism not only in the discipline of philosophy, but also racism and ableism as it is experienced globally. In particular, we want to talk about the news that came out several weeks ago about a seven year, $2.78 million grant that was awarded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for a project entitled “Extending New Narratives in the History of Philosophy”. While the goals of the project sound great, “to change the standards of practice in philosophy to enable the discipline to become inclusive and diverse by retrieving philosophical works of women and individuals from other marginalized groups across historical periods from 1400 through 1940 and sustaining the presence of these figures and their works in the history of philosophy” you all will immediately notice that the project is run almost exclusively by white women, with a few white men thrown in. Some might even say that it also seems to be primarily interested in uncovering the works of white women. There was a good deal of discussion about this at the DailyNous and the philosophy internet world.