The Academic Roots of Martin Luther King’s Moral Vision

Martin Luther King’s moral vision had many sources, but he identified only one of these as his “basic philosophical position”: a now largely forgotten view called  “Personalism,” which he learned at Boston University.  Personalism shaped King’s theology and his reading of the history of philosophy, which in turn shaped his moral vision. In this talk, I discuss the history and nature of personalism, note the main ways in which it influenced King’s thought, puzzle over its demise in academic philosophy, and consider its relevance to crucial matters confronting us in the academy today.