Subject, humanity and raciality

towards a radical refusal of modern categories in the thought of Denise Ferreira da Silva

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25247/P1982-999X.2025.v25n3.p203-228

Keywords:

modernity, provocation, radicalism, postulates, criticismo

Abstract

Denise Ferreira's thinking is important for analyzing issues such as subjects, raciality, racism and prejudice, among others. This is in order to: i) identify their root causes; ii) rethink these problems based on new “postulates”. These investigations will start with the following question: why aren't we still plunging ourselves into a deep ethical crisis when we see standardized and recurring scenarios of violence directed at specific, “racialized” groups? In this article, we will briefly present the author's analysis and criticism of the categories of “subject”, ‘humanity’ and “raciality”. To do this, we will use two postulates, namely provocation and radicalism, in order to develop the hypothesis of this research: the idea that the use of new investigative elements is capable of re-interpreting principles that were once affirmed. It is hoped that this article will demonstrate this aim, both in its attempt to offer an understanding of his thought in accessible language and through its dialogues and criticisms.

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Author Biographies

  • Allyson Pereira de Almeida, State University of Paraíba

    Ph.D. candidate in Philosophy in the Graduate Program in Philosophy (PPGFil/CCHLA) at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte. Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the State University of Paraíba (UEPB) since 2021. He is a member and researcher of the research group “Investigations into Kantian Philosophy and Its Influences” (CNPq) at the Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU), working within the research line titled “Kant and German Idealism.” He is also a member of the Research Group on Ethics and Political Philosophy (CNPq) at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), with a focus on research involving the topic of Ethics in Philosophy. He is a member of the Center for Applied Science and Technology (UFPB - CNPq), where he coordinates the Philosophy division. In addition, he is Editor-in-Chief of *Revista Instante* (UEPB, Qualis A3), a member of the National Editorial Board of *Griot: Revista de Filosofia da UFRB* (Qualis A3), and Assistant Editor of *Revista Paranaense de Filosofia* (UNESPAR), where he is responsible for analyzing and editing academic texts. He is also a member of the Editorial Board of CEDUC (UEPB).

  • João Miguel de Moraes, State University of Paraíba

    Licenciado em Filosofia pela Universidade Estadual da Paraíba (UEPB). Mestrado em Filosofia pela Universidade Federal da Paraíba. Especialização em Biblioteconomia pela Faculdade Internacional Signoreli (Unisignorelli-RJ). Doutorando em Filosofia pelo Programa de Pós-Graduação em Filosofia da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (PPGFil-UFRN). Servidor efetivo da Universidade Estadual da Paraíba. 

     

References

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Published

2025-10-15

How to Cite

ALMEIDA, Allyson Pereira de; MORAES, João Miguel de. Subject, humanity and raciality: towards a radical refusal of modern categories in the thought of Denise Ferreira da Silva. Revista Ágora Filosófica, Recife, PE, Brasil, v. 25, n. 3, p. 204–229, 2025. DOI: 10.25247/P1982-999X.2025.v25n3.p203-228. Disponível em: https://periodicos.unicap.br/agora/article/view/3283. Acesso em: 8 nov. 2026.