Interpersonal and Structural Domination
Frederick Douglass and the Invisible Chains that Bind Us
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20317501 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Alan Coffee (0000-0002-3137-2216, corresponding author), Alan M S J Coffee |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 543-565 |
| Publication date | 2024-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social Theory and Practice (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0037-802X • E-ISSN: 2154-123X |
| Publisher | Philosophy Documentation Center (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.5840/soctheorpract20241018225 |
| OpenAlex | W4403659300 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
Republicans are divided on the question of whether domination is best understood in terms of capacities to act intentionally or of certain structural aspects of society. I offer a model combining each aspect derived from Frederick Douglass’s philosophy. Douglass referred to slavery in both interpersonal terms (to individuals) and structural (to the community), focussing on the unique and pervasive role played by social prejudice which distorts public reason thereby disabling the functioning of republican institutions. While Douglass’s insights constitute a significant contribution to neo-republican theory in their own right, they also offer a slave’s perspective on the central republican concept of domination and shows how historic African American writers made innovative theoretical contributions to republicanism. Both of these have long been overlooked by republican scholars to the philosophical detriment of the tradition
Applied philosophy · Contemporary philosophy · Epistemology · Interpersonal communication · Sociology · Literature: history, themes, analysis · Philosophy · Political Philosophy and Ethics · Pragmatism in Philosophy and Education · Psychology · Social Psychology
| Citations per year | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |