How Martin Luther King, Jr. Used Nietzsche, Hegel & Kant to Overturn Segregation in America

Image by Dick DeMarôÙsiôÙco, via WikiôÙmeôÙdia ComôÙmons The influôÙence of Georg WilôÙhelm Friedrich Hegel on the revôÙoôÙluôÙtionôÙary phiôÙlosôÙoôÙphy of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels is well known. Marx wrote a criôÙtique of Hegelãs PhiôÙlosôÙoôÙphy of Right and claimed to have turned the GerôÙman ideôÙalôÙist philosoôÙpher on his head, and the develôÙopôÙment of MarxôÙist theôÙoôÙry among a school of neo-Hegelians, wrote RebecôÙca CoopôÙer in 1925, occurred in a periôÙod ãpecuôÙliarôÙly ausôÙpiôÙcious for the birth of a revôÙoôÙluôÙtionôÙary social phiôÙlosôÙoôÙphy.ã A cenôÙtuôÙry latôÙer, on anothôÙer conôÙtiôÙnent, Hegelãs thought influôÙenced the course of a very difôÙferôÙent strugôÙgle. And while the hisôÙtorôÙiôÙcal conôÙdiôÙtions of mid-nineôÙteenth-cenôÙtuôÙry Europe and mid-twenôÙtiôÙeth-cenôÙtuôÙry AmerôÙiôÙca present entireôÙly difôÙferôÙent sets of speôÙcifôÙic conôÙcerns, the same genôÙerôÙal obserôÙvaôÙtion applies: the time and place of such radôÙiôÙcal thinkers as MalôÙcolm X, Angela Davis, Huey NewôÙton and a host of othôÙer activists preôÙsentôÙed ãpecuôÙliarôÙly ausôÙpiôÙciousã cirôÙcumôÙstances for revôÙoôÙluôÙtionôÙary social phiôÙlosôÙoôÙphy. But while these figôÙures appear today as the vanôÙguard of radôÙiôÙcal black thought, MarôÙtin Luther King, Jr., the most wideôÙly celôÙeôÙbratôÙed of CivôÙil Rights leadôÙers, ãis often conôÙflatôÙed with neolibôÙerôÙal mulôÙtiôÙculôÙturôÙalôÙism,ã writes CritôÙiôÙcal TheôÙoôÙry, his proôÙgram assoôÙciôÙatôÙed with ãthe failôÙure of the civôÙil rights moveôÙment to disôÙmanôÙtle the ongoôÙing sysôÙtemic white supremaôÙcy of the staôÙtus quo.ã And yet, Kingãs moveôÙment not only sucôÙceedôÙed in endôÙing legal segôÙreôÙgaôÙtion and hasôÙtenôÙing the passôÙing of the CivôÙil Rights Act; it also proôÙvidôÙed direcôÙtion for nearôÙly every nonôÙviôÙoôÙlent social moveôÙment from his day to ours. Kingãs legaôÙcy is not only that of an inspirôÙing orgaôÙnizôÙer and oraôÙtor, but also of a radôÙiôÙcal thinker who engaged critôÙiôÙcalôÙly with phiôÙlosôÙoôÙphy and social theôÙoôÙry and brought it to bear on his activism. We are genôÙerôÙalôÙly well aware of Kingãs debt to GandôÙhi and the SatyaôÙgraôÙha moveôÙment that won IndiôÙan indeôÙpenôÙdence in 1947, yet we know litôÙtle of his debt to the same thinker who inspired Marx and his contemporariesãG.W.F. Hegel. As philosoôÙpher Nolen Gertz has demonôÙstratôÙed on his blog, King was highôÙly influôÙenced by HegelianôÙism, as much as, or perôÙhaps even more so, than he was by GandôÙhiãs moveôÙment. Marx may have turned Hegelãs sysôÙtem on its head, but King, writes Gertz, ãfought White AmerôÙiôÙcaãÎ by turnôÙing the ideas of dead white men against the oppresôÙsive pracôÙtices of livôÙing white men.ã King read and wrote on Hegel as a gradôÙuôÙate stuôÙdent at Boston UniôÙverôÙsiôÙty and HarôÙvard in the mid-ã50s, where he studôÙied theôÙolôÙoôÙgy and the hisôÙtoôÙry of phiôÙlosôÙoôÙphy and reliôÙgion. He took a yearôÙlong semôÙiôÙnar on Hegel with his adviôÙsor at BU, Edgar BrightôÙman (see Kingãs diaôÙgram notes of Hegelãs sysôÙtem above), and found a great deal to admire in the ãdead whiteã philosopherãs logôÙiôÙcal sysôÙtem, as well as a good deal to criôÙtique. The two-semesôÙter class, King wrote in his autoôÙbiôÙogôÙraôÙphy, was ãboth rewardôÙing and stimôÙuôÙlatôÙingã: Although the course was mainôÙly a study of Hegelãs monôÙuôÙmenôÙtal work, PheôÙnomôÙeôÙnolôÙoôÙgy of Mind, I spent my spare time readôÙing his PhiôÙlosôÙoôÙphy of HisôÙtoôÙry and PhiôÙlosôÙoôÙphy of Right. There were points in Hegelãs phiôÙlosôÙoôÙphy that I strongôÙly disôÙagreed with. For instance, his absolute ideôÙalôÙism was ratioôÙnalôÙly unsound to me because it tendôÙed to swalôÙlow up the many in the one. But there were othôÙer aspects of his thinkôÙing that I found stimôÙuôÙlatôÙing. His conôÙtention that ãtruth is the wholeã led me to a philoôÙsophôÙiôÙcal method of ratioôÙnal coherôÙence. His analyôÙsis of the dialecôÙtiôÙcal process, in spite of its shortôÙcomôÙings, helped me to see that growth comes through strugôÙgle. While King may have disôÙagreed with Hegelãs ideôÙalôÙism, he found supôÙport for his own phiôÙlosôÙoôÙphy of nonôÙviôÙoôÙlence in Hegelãs dialecôÙtiôÙcal method, a mode of analyôÙsis that seems parôÙticôÙuôÙlarôÙly well suitôÙed to socialôÙly revôÙoôÙluôÙtionôÙary thought. In Stride Toward FreeôÙdom, King wrote, The third way open to oppressed peoôÙple in their quest for freeôÙdom is the way of nonôÙviôÙoôÙlent resisôÙtance. Like the synôÙtheôÙsis in Hegelian phiôÙlosôÙoôÙphy, the prinôÙciôÙple of nonôÙviôÙoôÙlent resisôÙtance seeks to recôÙonôÙcile the truths of two oppositesãacquiescence and violenceãwhile avoidôÙing the extremes and immoralôÙiôÙties of both. Kingãs critôÙiôÙcal appraisal of Hegel extendôÙed to othôÙer radôÙiôÙcal philoôÙsophôÙiôÙcal thinkers as well, includôÙing Kant, SpinôÙoza, Kierkegaard, Marx, and NietôÙzsche. Gertz offers many samôÙples of the budôÙding CivôÙil Rights leaderãs notes on varôÙiôÙous thinkers and philosoôÙphies, includôÙing the first paraôÙgraph of an essay entiôÙtled ãPilôÙgrimôÙage to NonôÙviôÙoôÙlenceã (below), in which King conôÙfessôÙes that his encounter with ExisôÙtenôÙtialôÙism often ãshockedã him, espeôÙcialôÙly since he had ãbeen raised in a rather strict funôÙdaôÙmenôÙtalôÙist traôÙdiôÙtion.ã And yet, he writesãin an alluôÙsion to Kantãs reacôÙtion to David Humeãhe acquired ãa new appreôÙciôÙaôÙtion for objecôÙtive appraisal and critôÙiôÙcal analyôÙsisã that ãknocked me out of my dogôÙmatôÙic slumôÙber.ã In the essay, King writes, ãI became conôÙvinced that exisôÙtenôÙtialôÙism, in spite of the fact that it had become all too fashôÙionôÙable, had grasped cerôÙtain basic truths about man.ã He seems parôÙticôÙuôÙlarôÙly drawn to Kierkegaard (see his notes on the philosoôÙpher below). Yet it is Hegel who seems most responôÙsiôÙble for awakôÙenôÙing his philoôÙsophôÙiôÙcal curiosôÙiôÙty. As King scholôÙar John AnsôÙbro disôÙcovôÙered, King ãstatôÙed in a JanôÙuôÙary 19, 1956 interôÙview with The MontôÙgomery AdverôÙtisôÙer that Hegel was his favorite philosoôÙpher.ã LatôÙer that year, King gave an address to the First AnnuôÙal InstiôÙtute on NonôÙviôÙoôÙlence and Social Change in which he used Hegelian terms to charôÙacôÙterôÙize the CivôÙil Rights strugôÙgle: ãLong ago, the Greek philosoôÙpher HerôÙaôÙcliôÙtus argued that jusôÙtice emerges from the strife of oppoôÙsites, and Hegel, in modôÙern phiôÙlosôÙoôÙphy, preached a docôÙtrine of growth through strugôÙgle.ã IndeôÙpenôÙdent scholôÙar Ralph Dumain has furôÙther catôÙaôÙlogued Kingãs many approvôÙing refôÙerôÙences to Hegel, includôÙing a paper he wrote entiôÙtled ãAn ExpoôÙsiôÙtion of the First TriôÙad of CatôÙeôÙgories of the Hegelian LogicãBeing, Non-Being, BecomôÙing,ã the ãlast of six essays that King wroteã for his two-semesôÙter course on the philosoôÙpher. King also approached Hegel by way of an earôÙliôÙer CivôÙil Rights leaderãW.E.B. Du Bois, who read the GerôÙman philosoôÙpher while studyôÙing with promiôÙnent social sciôÙenôÙtists in Berlin, and who applied Hegelian logôÙic to his own analyôÙsis of racial conôÙsciousôÙness and strugôÙgle in AmerôÙiôÙca. InterôÙestôÙingôÙly, what neiôÙther King nor Du Bois remarked on is the fact that Hegel was likeôÙly himôÙself inspired by black revôÙoôÙluôÙtionôÙarôÙies. The HaitôÙian RevôÙoôÙluôÙtion, argues scholôÙar Susan Buck-Morss, gave Hegel the impeôÙtus for his analyôÙsis of powôÙer and his ãmetaphor of the ãstrugôÙgle to deathã between the masôÙter and slave, which for Hegel proôÙvidôÙed the key to the unfoldôÙing of freeôÙdom in world hisôÙtoôÙry.ã While Hegelãs thought is a philoôÙsophôÙiôÙcal thread that winds through the work of radôÙiôÙcal thinkers throughôÙout the nineôÙteenth and twenôÙtiôÙeth cenôÙturies, his own phiôÙlosôÙoôÙphy may not have takôÙen the direcôÙtion it did withôÙout the revôÙoôÙluôÙtionôÙary strugôÙgles against oppresôÙsion waged by forôÙmer slaves in the New World cenôÙturies before King led his nonôÙviôÙoôÙlent war on the oppresôÙsive sysôÙtem of segôÙreôÙgaôÙtion in the UnitôÙed States. H/T Nolen Gertz Note: An earôÙliôÙer verôÙsion of this post appeared on our site in 2015. RelatôÙed ConôÙtent: 200,000 MarôÙtin Luther King Papers Go Online Josh Jones is a writer and musiôÙcian based in Durham, NC. Leave a Reply