Fear of Black Consciousness by Lewis R. Gordon

Author:Lewis R. Gordon
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Political responsibility is unfortunately often confused with moral responsibility. In his 1947 book Die Schuldfrage, the German philosopher and psychiatrist Karl Jaspers offered much insight on political responsibility in circumstances of profound assaults on the human spirit.14 The word Schuld is related to the word Schule (school), the idea being that a person should learn something in a situation of guilt, blame, or responsibility. Guilt without learning is pointless and even pathological. The title of Jaspers’s book has been translated into English, however, as The Question of German Guilt.15 No doubt Germany’s position as a vanquished country and a worldwide aberration at the end of World War II was the reason for translating the general “Guilt” into a specifically German one, since those who fought against Germany wanted to particularize it instead of addressing their shared responsibility for the imperialism and racism that had fostered the war. The United States, especially, continues to avoid the fact that its ill-treatment of its Indigenous and black peoples, bolstered by rationalizations from many of its eminent scientists, inspired the Nazis.16 Jaspers, although at first addressing his fellow Germans, was speaking to every country and every person in the world.

Jaspers outlined four kinds of guilt, each with its own associated responsibilities. The first, metaphysical, addresses an individual’s relationship with G-d or existence throughout the universe or pluriverse. Here one stands alone before the judgment of the all-knowing. This form of guilt and responsibility might not resonate with atheists, or people who reject the idea of a spiritual reality; they may weigh the existential question of whether they have lived a meaningful life. The crucial thing is that lack of spiritual belief does not absolve anyone of responsibility. Even the atheist faces the question of whether to have faith in or take responsibility for the very idea of responsibility; after all, if there is no G-d from which responsibility flows, the onus is left on all of us.

The second, moral responsibility, is about our character and relationship with the rules and mores of society. The main concern is summarized by the question “Have I done the right thing?” Morality pertains to the rules; ethics, to character, which also raises the question “Am I a good person?”

The third, legal responsibility, is the matter of whether one has followed or broken rules as legislated by relevant authorities. In what are known as mala prohibita (wrongs because prohibited) offenses, one’s intentions need not matter. They are contrasted with mala en se (evil in themselves), which are prohibited even if no government or legal system has declared them so.

The last form of guilt and responsibility, political, is of primary interest here. It is responsibility, borne by every member of a society, for the actions of their government. This one raises the question of whether a government has acted that, should it fall, its people will deserve mercy. Jaspers counsels governments to remember that if they fail, it is the people, their citizens, who will be forced to pay their debts, and in some instances even merit a death sentence of their own doing.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.