The Arc of Return: Afropessimist Temporalities and Relational Justice
Afropessimism is often characterized as nihilistic, and some writers have embraced the label. But Afropessimism also proffers an irreducibly relational theory of justice urging a (re)sensitization to human pain. Reading Afropessimist Cristina Sharpe alongside and against the Enlightenment-optimist S...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2025
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| In: |
Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics
Year: 2025, Volume: 45, Issue: 2, Pages: 231-248 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Afropessimism is often characterized as nihilistic, and some writers have embraced the label. But Afropessimism also proffers an irreducibly relational theory of justice urging a (re)sensitization to human pain. Reading Afropessimist Cristina Sharpe alongside and against the Enlightenment-optimist Steven Pinker, this paper argues that Afropessimism shares more in common with the Levinasian face summoning to responsibility than with Rawlsian impartiality behind a veil of ignorance. The relational theory of justice, and the fungible temporalities, operative in Afropessimism offer rich resources to Christian ethicists seeking to build effective coalitions. In “staying with the trouble,” Afropessimists insist that a commitment to justice can only be enfleshed in an active and compassionate solidarity with people who are suffering. |
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| ISSN: | 2326-2176 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Society of Christian Ethics, Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.5840/jsce2025911135 |
