Читать книгу Race - Paul C. Taylor - Страница 24

The first part of this book is building toward a discussion of the existence and nature of the entities that we call races. Call this a question of racial metaphysics. So far I’ve tried to prepare the way for that discussion by introducing the contexts for the argument, some definitions and distinctions, and some methodological ground rules.

I’ve also argued that race is a subject that in many ways invites and rewards philosophical scrutiny. My approach to philosophical scrutiny involved an old-fashioned model of armchair analysis that may feel a little too disconnected from the realities of life in a racialized world, my attempts at reassurance notwithstanding. If so, it may help to know that the next chapter will focus on providing some more historical and social-theoretic detail. This may offer a welcome respite from the abstraction of philosophy and it should supply the empirical ballast that keeps armchair analysis from floating into the clouds.