Questions of Race in J. S. Mill’s Contributions to Logic

Abstract

This article is part of a larger project in which I attempt to show that Western formal logic, from its inception in Aristotle onward, has both been partially constituted by, and partially constitutive of, what has become known as racism. In contrast to this trend, the present article concerns the major philosopher whose contribution to logic has been perhaps the most derided and marginalized, and yet whose character and politics are, from a contemporary perspective, drastically superior-John Stuart Mill. My approach to my core concern will be one of narrowing concentric circles. I will begin with Mill's occasional political writings that bear on the issue of racism, including "The Negro Question." From there, the core of the article will explore the political dimensions of Mill's A System of Logic. I. Questions of Race in Mill's Political ActivismIn brief, my argument in this first section is that, despite J. S. Mill's complicity with the immoral colonial rule of the East India Company, he was resolutely opposed to chattel slavery and the violent oppression of the black residents of Jamaica, making him a force for racial justice in his era. In this way, Mill stands in stark contrast to a majority of the other central figures in the history of Western logic, including Aristotle (who articulated an infamous theory of natural slavery), Leibniz (who advertised his formal logic to European monarchs as an instrument for forced Christianization of darker-skinned non-Europeans), and Frege (who celebrates anti-Semitic practices in Germany as well as a young Hitler's rise to power). 1 It is this level, of a progressive logician resisting logic's reactionary history, which is my primary concern.Beginning with Mill's reply to his erstwhile friend, the famous Scottish satirist Thomas Carlyle, I will detail fifteen reasons why Mill deserves to be recognized as racially progressive in his era. In Mill's "The Negro Question," he (1) sacrifices his friendship with Carlyle and exposes himself to public ridicule by attacking Carlyle's racist views, (2) explicitly links 17. See, for example, Paul Vincent Spade's Five Texts on the Mediaeval Problem of Universals. 18. See Richard Mendelsohn's introductory remarks to Frege's diary, 303-43.

Takli̇tten Temsi̇le Çevi̇ri̇ Kavrami

“…Söylem güçle sarmalanmıştır ama gücün/bilginin işlev görmesi için bir 'özne' bulmak (kral, egemen sınıf, burjuvazi, devlet vs.) şart değildir". 49 Hall'a göre "özneler belirli metinler üretebilir ama belirli bir dönem ve kültürün epistemesinin, söylem oluşumunun, gerçek rejiminin sınırları içinde işlev görürler". 50 Çeviri eylemi ise var olan bu söylemi başka bir söylem içine taşır ve yedirir.…”

“…49 Hall'a göre "özneler belirli metinler üretebilir ama belirli bir dönem ve kültürün epistemesinin, söylem oluşumunun, gerçek rejiminin sınırları içinde işlev görürler". 50 Çeviri eylemi ise var olan bu söylemi başka bir söylem içine taşır ve yedirir. Sabit bir anlam olmadığı gibi sabit bir söylem de olmayışı "aynılık ya da benzerlik" beklentisini sorunsallaştırır.…”