The Emotions of Nonviolence: Revisiting Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail"
Meena Krishnamurthy
Mar 2025 · Oxford University Press
Ebook
296
Pages
Tools
info
family_home
Eligible
info
About this ebook
"Letter from Birmingham Jail" is perhaps the most beloved and widely read work by Martin Luther King, Jr. Despite the countless publications on its conception and meaning, its broader philosophical significance is often missed. The Emotions of Nonviolence offers a novel interpretation of the Letter, which Meena Krishnamurthy argues is not merely a discussion of civil disobedience, but also an essay on political motivation. In this context, she shows how the Letter seeks to answer a central question in democratic theory: namely, how can and ought we motivate the racially oppressed to engage in civil disobedience, what King called nonviolent direct action? King's answer, she says, is that we should appeal to and encourage the political emotions, both positive and negative. Fear, courage, faith, dignity, indignation, and love can together motivate nonviolent action-and nonviolent action can in turn reciprocally motivate and sustain these same emotions. Krishnamurthy's novel and important reading of King's Letter illuminates its complexity and its underlying theory of political emotions, including the impediments to action under conditions of injustice, calls some to account for their inaction, engages in propagandizing to motivate a change, and to commend the thousands of ordinary Black people already in motion in pursuit of democracy, freedom, and justice.
"Letter from Birmingham Jail" is perhaps the most beloved and widely read work by Martin Luther King, Jr. Despite the countless publications on its conception and meaning, its broader philosophical significance is often missed. The Emotions of Nonviolence offers a novel interpretation of the Lett...
Discover more
Rate this ebook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
