Evaluating Recent discussion on Kant's theory of race

The purpose of this paper will be to examine recent work on Immanuel Kant's theory of race from the standpoint of what it might bring to Kantian studies in general. What lies behind this developing interest which has grown exponentially since the beginning of the 1990s? The starting point of the paper will be two recent publications on the topic, the first by Lawrence Ramsaeur in Pacific philosophical quarterly, volume 104, issue 4 and a chapter by Lea Ypi in a recent Kant handbook. I will summarise and interrogate their conclusions to see what lessons might be learned for political theory. The paper will seek to place Immanuel Kant's view on race in the context of methodological issues in the history of political thought. Should we follow John Rawls and seek the most charitable interpretation of a thinker's views, or is it appropriate and necessary to hold past theorists to the standards of morality and politics that are prevalent in our own age and culture.