Philosophy's Julia Jorati Releases New Book, "Slavery and Race: Philosophical Debates in the Eighteenth Century"

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A new book from Professor of Philosophy Julia Jorati called, "Slavery and Race: Philosophical Debates in the Eighteenth Century," was published on Nov. 22. 

It explores philosophical ideas and arguments, with a focus on the role race played in discussions of slavery. The book examines the philosophical importance of debates about slavery in the eighteenth century; introduces readers to many intriguing texts that are rarely studied by historians of philosophy; and prompts a reevaluation of the philosophical canon by examining how several well-known philosophers from the eighteenth century view slavery and race.

Jorati reveals how closely associated Blackness and slavery were at that time and how many white people viewed Black people as naturally destined for slavery. In addition to examining well-known authors like David Hume, Immanuel Kant, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Jorati also discusses less widely studied philosophers like Quobna Ottobah Cugoano, Lemuel Haynes, and Olympe de Gouges. By revealing important aspects of debates about slavery in North America and Europe, this book and its companion volume on the sixteenth and seventeeth centuries are valuable resources for readers interested in a more complete history of early modern philosophy.

Jorati received a master's degree from the University of Göttingen in Germany in 2008 and a PhD from Yale in 2013. She taught at The Ohio State University for six years before coming to UMass in 2019.

The main focus of Jorati’s research is the history of early modern philosophy. At present, she is particularly interested in philosophical debates about slavery and race in the 17th and 18th centuries. She has also published extensively on the philosophy of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz.