Fanon, Violence, and the Struggle Against Colonialism
Jan 29, 2018弗朗茨·法农是个很有挑衅性的人。在他最有影响力的作品《地球的不幸》中,法农说:“对于被殖民者来说,生命只能从殖民者腐烂的尸体中物质化。”
Frantz Fanon is a thinker who has inspired radical liberation movements in places ranging from Palestine to South Africa to the United States. Most famous for his workThe Wretched of the Earth,法农通常被认为是革命暴力的支持者。但这是对法农的公正描述,还是对一部更深刻、更丰富的作品的过度简化?法农的暴力哲学究竟是什么,它与殖民主体的哲学和心理有什么关系?法农如何塑造了我们对身份政治的看法?The Philosophers welcome Nigel Gibson from Emerson College, author ofFanon: The Postcolonial Imagination.
As the show begins, Josh and Ken question whether violence is an appropriate response to colonial oppression. The work of 20th century philosopher Frantz Fanon – who is well-known for advocating for rebellious violence – is the stasis point for this conversation. While Ken is dissuaded from this approach – arguing that non-violent approaches similar to those of Gandhi are more ethical – Josh pushes back by arguing that non-violence is a tool used by colonialism to quell its subjects. In a word, the colonized can become so deeply colonized that they reject violence on the grounds of their oppressors’ values such as dignity, equality, and individualism.
The hosts are joined by guest Nigel Gibson, professor in the Institute for Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies at Emerson College. Nigel claims that a violent reading of Fanon’s work does not recognize his project to help the colonized rebuild a post-colonial world despite the historical struggles underlying it. For Nigel, the question becomes “how do the colonized produce a new consciousness that resists colonialism’s influence?” He argues that inBlack Skin, White Masks,法农试图解释个体内化压迫的过程,这是由于殖民者未能实现他/她所宣称的普遍平等的承诺。
在节目的最后一部分,Josh, Ken和Nigel讨论了世界主义和Fanon对殖民者和被殖民者之间持续斗争的承诺之间的紧张关系。奈杰尔将后者重新定义为一场集体斗争,目的是将被殖民者从他们的处境中解放出来,从而产生独立的、主权的国家意识。此外,殖民者并不是完全无处不在,正如奈杰尔解释的那样,某些精英(如知识阶层)可以在争取解放的努力中扮演重要的革命者角色。