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Interview with James Murray

Beatrice Marchegiani

James Murray

Tell us a bit about your research.

My current research centers on making an ethical case for why universities should, in their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, disaggregate those who racially identify as Black by ethnicity and putting a particular emphasis on recruiting and retaining among faculty and the student body those who are the American Descendants of Slavery (ADOS). Those of this ethnicity have ancestors whose labor and bodies were an indelible part of the country’s economic engine and contributed to making the United States what it is today, not only in terms of its wealth, but in enumerable aspects of American culture. Some of their ancestors kept the doors of institutions like Georgetown University open through their bodies being commodified at the expense of their humanity. Taking this Georgetown University history writ large for American universities (and American society in general), I’m asking ‘what ethical obligations (if any) do universities have toward American descendants of slavery in their strivings for diversity, equity and inclusion?’ Also, “what could reparative justice in universities look like?”In a larger sense, in the pursuit of diversity, equity and inclusion in American higher education, it seems pertinent to consider how monocultural views of race obfuscates the realities of the various ethnicities subsumed within that racial category. Quality-of-life indicators, such as health, education and wealth can become masked. 

What motivated you to study philosophy in the first place? What advice would you give to aspiring philosophers?

My interest in philosophy stemmed from my love of history. It wasn’t merely enough to know the dates and times of events and know “Great Men” who have supposedly propelled history forward (caught in the linear progressive narrative as we’re apt to do in the West), I had an urge to know what ways of thinking motivate people and societies to act in the ways that they do. Asking questions like, ‘what environmental factors tend to contribute to folks embracing one ideology over the other?’ Even for myself, I wonder how my environment and its conditioning of me leads me to come to the conclusions that I come to regarding my own biases. Finally, I find the study of philosophy to be a very humbling journey in that while we contemplate meaningful questions regarding various aspects of the human experience, it is very much that… a human experience. As objective and impartial as we try to be, we all see based on our consciousnesses shaped by your unique experiences. For any aspiring philosophers out there, I would say maintain a sense of humility and curiosity—these complement each other and are values important to those engaging the public with academic philosophy and to just being an empathetic person.

One of your areas of specialisation is the philosophy of race. Why do you think it is important to look at race from a philosophical viewpoint? What sort of philosophical lens and tools are appropriate for and facilitate this work?

I think a philosophical viewpoint allow us to think about the questions we aren’t asking when it comes to race. I can’t say what’s appropriate, but I have a critical pedagogy lens, so I see education as a force to bring forth consciousness that allows the oppressed to reshape their realities, from how they think of it to reimagining and reworking it

When you focus on Black American-specific work, what role(s) do offering outlets of catharsis for people within diverse Black American communities and raising awareness with members of other communities play, among other considerations and emphases? How do you develop and manifest these considerations?

I think a space and a sense of compassion allow for Black Americans of various ethnicities and cultures to gather in dialogue and see each other as beings-for-themselves. The questions I’m asking can springboard those in other communities in higher education to consider the things they may or may not be thinking about when making decisions regarding diversity, particularly when they think of the term “Black” from a racial monocultural lens. 

Other than doing public philosophy, my current research has very much the personal dimension. I clearly see the link between my parents from rural Arkansas who never graduated from high school and my pursuit of higher education, but I often wonder what if certain goods were widely available to them such as a quality education, the possibilities that could have opened for them, both materially and in thought. That kind of thinking guided me to extend the empathy I felt for myself and my parents to others whose ability to dream beyond what is visible is stunted by the legacy of chattel slavery in this country. The ripples of that system are all around, I’m just focusing on higher education’s role in the process of repair.

Despite being early on in your academic career, you have already engaged in several outlets of public philosophy; for example, by hosting the podcast ‘Maladjusted Life,’ by writing articles targeted to the general public, and (most recently) by leading one of opp’s lectures for the  Insurrectionist Ethics free online course. What (if anything) have you learned from those experiences and what motivates you?

I’ve learned through engaging the public through journalism and now through academia that information and developing a consciousness of yourself, others and your surroundings through education have a symbiotic relationship. Namely that, information informs what we think, and our consciousness informs how we think.  What philosophy, I think adds to the conversation with the public is getting people to question how they think about issues and reveal our biases. Engaging with public is a reminder that no one is an island and what we do affect one another, that’s what keeps me on my toes.

When it comes to public philosophy, what areas of philosophy should be prioritised?

I think we should place a bit more emphasis on ideas like “alterity” and “intersubjectivity.” These are concepts used largely among those in the area of phenomenology. These concepts can help establish a framework of understanding of how we relate to other beings-for-themselves in the world. This is especially crucial given that cooperation with others including nature is paramount for mankind to maintain ourselves on a planet where we’ve contributed to its climate becoming increasingly more hostile to our stay.

What, if any, obligations do philosophers have to engage in public philosophy and ‘educate’ the public, especially about certain socially significant topics (e.g. race theory)?

I would say to illuminate issues of far-reaching social importance that may get lost in the busyness that daily life presents to many of us. Public philosophy allows for a third space in which something new can come from philosophers and the public. It just seems that doing any real serious philosophy requires a conversation of some sort.

Can activism be seen as a form of public philosophy? More generally, how do you view the relationship between philosophy and activism? Is there any tension between philosophy (which, in the mainstream ‘western’ tradition, claims to be objective and impartial) and social/political activism? If so, how can this tension be resolved and how do you navigate living and working with it?

Activism fits in the frame of public philosophy, I think. in our age of broad access to information, activism evokes awareness toward issues in society to a broader public and can provoke discussion on the topic. The detached ‘western’ perspective of impartiality seems to remove an aspect of humanity from our lived experience, namely, it undermines the relationships that people form with one another and their environments and the roles those relations play in ethical decision making. 

One tension that I see between this perspective and social activism is that social activism in people often stems from one’s relation to a particular incident (say, a mother becomes an activist due to son being killed by a cop). So, for activist one can only imagine the disconnect felt when hearing someone philosophize on an issue in which they have no real connection. I think philosophy is informed by life and vice versa.