Crafting Race in Plato and Aristotle

In recent years, there has been a proliferation of ground-breaking work to recover historical views on marginalized identities and to incorporate these topics into historical narratives. Yet, there has been no substantial undertaking among scholars of ancient Greek philosophy to discuss race in the works of the most central philosophical figures of this period: Plato and Aristotle.

Crafting Race in Plato and Aristotle collects nineteen previously unpublished essays that address this gap by exploring the different views and background assumptions about race and racism in the works of Plato and Aristotle. The volume also explores important questions about how to investigate race in Greek antiquity by examining the continuities between the ancient past and our current worldviews, while avoiding inadequate projections of later historical developments.

Patricia Marechal is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She works on moral psychology, ethics, and epistemology in the works of Plato and Aristotle. She has held visiting positions at Humboldt University and Corpus Christi College in Cambridge University. She has published articles in Phronesis, Journal of the History of Philosophy, Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, Ancient Philosophy, and Apeiron.

John D. Proios is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Chicago and affiliated faculty with the Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture and the Center for Hellenic Studies at the University of Chicago. His work focuses on metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics in ancient Greek philosophy, especially as they intersect in Plato's later dialogues, with papers appearing in venues such as the British Journal of the History of Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy, Apeiron, Classical Quarterly, and Philosophers' Imprint.