The Age of Enlightenment was a time in human history when men and women approached life with a sense of reason and rationality. Empiricism became more valuable, and superstition came under attack and brushed aside. The thinkers of this age prided themselves on their use of reason to come to logical conclusions concerning government, economics, aesthetics, and theology. In spite of all this growth, some of the most prominent thinkers of this time were vehement racists. How could these men who made such contributions to society hold such racist views? Slavery was an important part of certain economies in this age, but functionality may not have been the only root of these racist beliefs. Although by today’s standards the racism found within the writings of thinkers like David Hume and Immanuel Kant may seem irrational, the virtue of reason so highly regarded by this men may have actually been the grounds for these racist views. Reason has been used to champion the equality of men and overcome harmful, superstitious beliefs, but it was also used to perpetuate the idea of white superiority visible in the writings of some Enlightenment thinkers.
David Hume wrote in his essay “Of National Characters” that of all the races on the planet, whites are naturally and evidentially superior. The evidence for this stance is presented as the phenomenon of civilization. Hume believes that the white race is the only race to produce a civilized nation. Hume sees the rubric for “civilized” as a nation who manufactures, and excels in arts and sciences. The Egyptians, Nubians, Arabs, Chinese, Japanese, and so forth are not counted by Hume as “civilized” and thus are naturally inferior to whites. Hume is especially harsh towards the “negroes”. When he hears someone tell of an intelligent non-white, he refers to this person as “like a parrot” merely mimicking that which he or she hears. Muslim theologians, Egyptian engineers, and Chinese philosophers are ignored and counted as inferior. The key to why Hume rejects these societies and their achievements is based upon his concept of reason. Hume lived in a time when reason and rationality was the base of a nation that manufactured. This idea of commerce was a product of this age of reason. Since the other nations did not have the same manufacturing economy, thus not the same reason, these societies were inferior.
Immanuel Kant also wrote on the issue of race. In his writing Observations on the Feeling of the Beautiful and Sublime Kant compares the world’s races. Kant creates a hierarchy with whites at the top and blacks at the bottom. Kant finds the religions and customs of other races to be inferior to those of whites. Even the art produced by these people is described as “grotesque”. Instead of appreciating the difference between the varying cultures, Kant saw this difference as a sign of inferiority which leads one to believe that Kant viewed his own society and tastes to be intrinsically superior. Thomas Jefferson, the man who penned the Declaration of Independence, saw blacks as inferior to their white counterparts. Jefferson believed that the blacks lacked creativity and ingenuity. He did not find their poetry pleasing and thought their speech was abrasive. The fact that slaves were not allowed to receive the same education as their white masters did not factor into Jefferson’s consideration in the difference between the poetry, rhetoric, and imagination of the races; rather, Jefferson saw this as tied to genetics. Jefferson feared that freed slaves may reproduce with whites, thus muddying the gene pool. Two of the most famous Enlightenment thinkers were not immune to succumbing to the racist views that were prevalent. Although the Enlightenment was a time of challenge to irrational beliefs, ideas of racism were able to live on under the disguise of rational thought.
Perhaps the root of this problem can be found in the writings of other Enlightenment thinkers. While Adam Smith may have been writing about poetry and art in Theory of Moral Sentiments, his ideas regarding custom and fashion may help to shed light on how atrocious racial views could be upheld in a time of reason. Adam Smith argued that while people seemed to think that “reason and nature” decided what was seen as acceptable and beautiful, “custom and fashion” played a very large role most people would be reluctant to admit. Since some Enlightenment thinkers considered their particular society to be superior due to a base in reason, anything that differed from this was irrational and outside of reason. Reason was a very strong virtue to these thinkers; therefore, anything that seemed outside the realm of reason was a vice. If Enlightenment thinkers confused the role of “custom and fashion” for “reason and nature”, it becomes clear why the societies of others seemed barbaric and superstitious. Jefferson saw the poetry of blacks as inferior when it was simply different. Kant saw the religious traditions of Indians grotesque, but they were simply different than the traditions to which Kant was accustomed. Since Enlightenment thinkers viewed themselves as rational thinkers, they did not see themselves as susceptible to custom and fashion. They believed what they found beautiful and acceptable was grounded in reason. Anything that differed from their tastes was not only different, it was irrational. The culture of reason was believed to be intrinsically good and transcend culture, a product of reason not custom. If a poem written by an author of another race did not match the custom of the Enlightenment thinker, it had no value. The inferiority of non-whites arises from their inability to produce white culture.
This idea is also present in Robinson Crusoe. Although Crusoe was eager to share his language and customs with Friday, he did not show interest in learning the same from Friday. The only information from Friday that interested Crusoe was information pertaining to Crusoe’s escape from the island. The customs and religion of Friday were assumed barbaric since they were not the customs and religion with which Crusoe was familiar. Since Crusoe came from a culture that viewed its customs grounded in reason which was intrinsically good, any thing that deviated from that was outside of reason and thus intrinsically inferior. This inferiority was seen not as a matter of circumstance and culture, but it was linked to the nature of the race that man represented.
Enlightenment thinkers valued reason to such a degree that it could at times be harmful. While preconceived notions of race play into these ideas, these thinkers were able to apply reason to their beliefs. Fortunately, not all thinkers in the 18th century employed reason in this same manner. The rise of abolitionism and equality also has its roots in the 18th century. These 18th century thinkers who perpetuated racism were not evil men who used reason to intentionally harm others. They are products of their time and context. Clearly reason did not prevent the abolition of slavery and the advancement of non-whites. Like many human faculties, reason can be employed in such a way that supports the status quo, but it can also be used to overcome long held beliefs of racial superiority and exploitation.
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