A majority of philosophy focusing on what the self is in regards to white people. In the times of Aristotle and Plato, their beliefs only regarded white men. In a world where their opinions are more widely regarded than that of ethnic philosophers, people of color rarely get a chance to hear from ethnic philosophers on what the self means to them. According to WEB Dubois, an American black, or other person of color, is unable to be both an American and a minority. This paper will argue that despite DuBois’ belief that a person is unable to formulate a self due to cultural differences, it is possible for a black person or other minority to have a self and succeed despite opposition from the Caucasian majority.
Despite most Americans believing that we live in a post racial society, people of color are constantly trying to find equality in a country where being a white man is the goal. A goal that is all but unattainable to people who are not born into the privilege of being Caucasian. A huge way in which the inequality is seen is in the labels given to American born minorities in the United States. Native …show more content…
This however makes it hard for a person of color to be a full self. If a person of color in America wants to achieve a full self, then they would have to ignore half of their upbringing in order to assimilate to one aspect but that does not work in this scenario. Like DuBois said in chapter one of “The Souls of Black Folk”, “The double-aimed struggle of the black artisan--on the one hand to escape white contempt for a nation of mere hewers of wood and drawers of water, and on the other hand to plough and nail and dig for a poverty-stricken horde-- could only result in making him a poor craftsman, for he had but half a heart in either cause.” (371) It is impossible to be one thing without rejecting another part of the
Despite most Americans believing that we live in a post racial society, people of color are constantly trying to find equality in a country where being a white man is the goal. A goal that is all but unattainable to people who are not born into the privilege of being Caucasian. A huge way in which the inequality is seen is in the labels given to American born minorities in the United States. Native …show more content…
This however makes it hard for a person of color to be a full self. If a person of color in America wants to achieve a full self, then they would have to ignore half of their upbringing in order to assimilate to one aspect but that does not work in this scenario. Like DuBois said in chapter one of “The Souls of Black Folk”, “The double-aimed struggle of the black artisan--on the one hand to escape white contempt for a nation of mere hewers of wood and drawers of water, and on the other hand to plough and nail and dig for a poverty-stricken horde-- could only result in making him a poor craftsman, for he had but half a heart in either cause.” (371) It is impossible to be one thing without rejecting another part of the