The ‘Heart’ and ‘Mind’ of Racism

Abstract

Jorge Garcia argues that racism is an affective phenomenon rooted in the “heart,” characterised by vicious race-based attitudes, and is thus a moral vice. In contrast, Tommie Shelby's ideological account situates racism as an cognitive ideological error of the “mind,” sustained by systemic structures that are constructed on false beliefs. While Garcia’s volitional and Shelby’s ideological theories diverge, both remain foundational for understanding the complex nature of racism. In this thesis, I argue that neither Garcia’s noncognitive affective model nor Shelby’s cognitive model alone sufficiently explains racism. Instead, I propose a dual-model that integrates both the vicious race-based attitudes of the heart and the false beliefs of the mind to suggest a more comprehensive account of the interplay between individual and institutional racism. This synthesis deals with a key limitation in existing individualistic accounts by demonstrating how individual racism connects to institutional structures. By reconciling the affective and cognitive elements, the dual-model reveals how the convergence of racist attitudes and faulty beliefs becomes institutionalised. Methodologically, I utilise an “armchair analytical” approach, focused on comparatively analysing key texts, supplemented by insights from social scientific studies, allowing for a philosophically rigorous yet empirically grounded framework. This dual-model approach reconciles the theoretical limitations of Garcia’s volitional conception and Shelby’s ideological view, and provides new insights into the complex interplay between individual and institutional manifestations of racism. This dual-model approach advances beyond current conceptions by closing the explanatory gap between individualistic and systemic understandings of racism, and thus offering a more comprehensive account. Future research can continue to refine, expand and apply this integrated approach in real-world contexts to see how it can inform anti-racist efforts that supports a more holistic response to racism at both its individual and institutional levels.