Slavery in Early Modern Philosophy 1765-1800

This volume comprises forty-five philosophical texts about slavery that were composed in Europe and America between 1765 and 1800. The texts, selected and in some cases newly translated by Julia Jorati, discuss various aspects of slavery, and from many different perspectives. Written by enslaved and formerly enslaved antislavery authors, their allies, and a few of their opponents, they demonstrate that the debate about slavery in the late eighteenth century, during the first major transnational abolitionist movement, was remarkably multifaceted and philosophically sophisticated. Some authors base their arguments on the moral principles embraced by revolutionaries in France and America, such as the principle that all men have an inalienable right to liberty; others draw on different moral frameworks such as utilitarianism, natural law theory, social contract theory, and Biblical ethics.

In addition to arguments for and against the moral permissibility of transatlantic slavery, the texts in Slavery in Early Modern Philosophy 1765-1800 also examine other related philosophical issues, such as complicity, reparations, racial bias, the right to rebel, the effects of enslavement on the human mind, and the epistemic dimensions of oppression. This volume serves as a companion to Jorati's Slavery in Early Modern Philosophy 1500-1765: Essential Readings and will interest scholars and students seeking a deeper understanding of these underexamined debates.