'Bourgeois coldness' describes a contemporary sentiment, with which bourgeois subjects shield themselves from the violence they themselves cause. It examines how racist affective structures are formed along the histories of colonialism and also Enlightenment philosophy. Canonical critical approaches by Adorno and Horkheimer enter a dialogue with the field of Black Studies and thinkers such as Saidiya Hartman, Fred Moten, and Denise Ferreira da Silva.