Shyam Ranganathan, "Moral Philosophy and De-Colonialism: The Irrationality of Oppression" (Bloomsbury Academic, 2026)

About this episode

Shyam Ranganathan discusses the intersection of moral philosophy and colonialism, highlighting the impact of Western colonialism on ethical theorizing.

Why have moral philosophers largely ignored colonialism? In Moral Philosophy and De-Colonialism: The Irrationality of Oppression (Bloomsbury Academic, 2026), Shyam Ranganathan tells the story of moral philosophy and colonialism and reveals the benefits of drawing from a colonized tradition to a create a rigorous logic-based ethics. This is a timely exploration of the the ways in which Western colonialism has structured moral theorizing to insulate itself from criticism. In his account of the domination of the European tradition and the suppression of questions of its colonialism, Ranganathan covers the evolution of metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics in ancient European, Chinese, and Indian traditions of philosophy. We see the presence of white supremacy in the writings of J.S. Mill, Marx and Engels, and the importance placed on autonomy and sovereignty in Hobbes and Kant. The European influence of interpretation on our peer review of historical philosophy is evident throughout. Using South Asia as an example Ranganathan examines how colonizers are able to erase moral philosophical history and redefine cultures as religions, judged in terms of their conformity to, or…

People in this episode

Host: Marshall Poe

Guest: Shyam Ranganathan

Topics covered

• moral philosophy
• colonialism
• ethics
• metaethics
• normative ethics
• applied ethics
• de-colonialism

Keywords

• moral philosophy
• colonialism
• ethics
• metaethics
• normative ethics
• applied ethics
• de-colonialism
• Yoga
• white supremacy
• cultural erasure

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Bloomsbury Academic

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