Newswise — The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. " his name and personality instantly identify him as one of the world leaders of Civil Rights reform. His cultural legacy conjures many iconic American sights and sounds: images from the Montgomery bus boycott; 1963's March on Washington; the "I Have a Dream" and "Mountain Top" speeches; the tragic photos of his assassination in Memphis, and his funeral procession in Atlanta.
The net effect of considering this collage of our history is to understand Dr. King as a man of action. But Arnold Farr, Ph.D., an associate professor of philosophy at Saint Joseph's University, notes that little attention is given to his training as a philosopher, and the further implications of his philosophical positions.
"King was not only an activist, but also a thinker whose activism was informed by what he thought were some of the best insights into the human condition by Western philosophers," says Farr.
Many are aware of Mahatma Gandhi's influence on Dr. King's philosophy of nonviolent social change, but his earlier readings of Kant, Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche and Bowne while in the seminary and graduate school are often overlooked.
"King's favorite philosopher was Hegel. He was especially influenced by his dialectical method, philosophy of history and the idea that growth comes from struggle," he adds.
While at Crozer Theological Seminary (in Chester, Pa.) and Boston University, King found himself in the hotbeds of the philosophy of personalism, which is closely connected to Kantian moral philosophy because of its emphasis on the respect for the individual, notes Farr.
"The father of personalism in the U.S. was Borden Parker Bowne, who began his work at Boston University in 1876. His philosophy played a major role in King's fight against racism, since racism is destructive of the human personality. King created a synthesis of personalism and Marxism, based on Marx' analysis of the oppression of the working class, and how oppression is destructive to human potential," says Farr.
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