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Lacey J Davidson, A Philosophy of Struggle: The Leonard Harris Reader, The Philosophical Quarterly, Volume 71, Issue 3, July 2021, Pages 658–661, https://doi.org/10.1093/pq/pqaa064
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Philosophia nata ex conatu
This book brings together Leonard Harris’ most impactful articles, alongside a new introduction on philosophical method. Harris is a critical philosopher of race, Alaine Locke scholar and founder of the Alain L. Locke Association, and co-founder of the Philosophy Born of Struggle community and conference. Taken together, these essays represent a method of doing philosophy that departs from the foundations of our tradition; it represents a specifically Harrisonian way of engaging in the process of philosophy as born of struggle, of strife, of tenacity, and of striving. This method pushes us to remove philosophy from the realm of the immaterial and plunges us into the material contours of our lives and the lives of those who struggle against the irredeemable deaths and misery of racism and other forms of oppression. The book was edited by Harris’ former student Lee A. McBride III.
The book is split into five parts. The first is focused on method, the second on racism and the needless suffering at its core, the third on agency, the fourth on insurrecting under conditions of oppression, and the fifth on connecting Harrisonian methodology to continuously evolving philosophical traditions. I’ll review each section in turn.
