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They are said to be the founding fathers of Western philosophy, whose ideas underpin civilized society.

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But students at a prestigious London university are demanding that such figures as Plato, Descartes and Immanuel Kant be largely dropped from the curriculum because they are white.

The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS)’s student union is insisting that when studying philosophy, “the majority of philosophers on our courses” should be from Africa and Asia.

They say it is part of wider campaign to “decolonize” the university, as they seek to “address the structural and epistemological legacy of colonialism.”

It comes after education leaders warned that all universities will be forced to pander to the demands of “snowflake” students, however unreasonable they might be.

Under proposed reforms to higher education, the government wants to place student satisfaction at the heart of a new ranking system, but its critics fear could undermine academic integrity.

Sir Roger Scruton, the philosopher, said the demands suggest “ignorance.” “You can’t rule out a whole area of intellectual endeavour without having investigated it, and clearly they haven’t investigated what they mean by white philosophy,” he told The Mail on Sunday.