A durable question in Latin American thought is whether it could amount to a characteristically Latin American philosophy. I argue that, if, as is now widely conceded, there is a role for philosophical analysis in thinking about problems that arise in applied subjects, such as bioethics, environmental ethics, and feminism, then why not also in Latin American thought? After all, the focus of Hispanic thinkers has often been upon the issues that arise in their own experiences of the world, and (...) they make up a diverse group of peoples related by very idiosyncratic ethnic and historical connections. I believe that, given some appropriate criteria, the existing corpus of works by Latin American thinkers constitutes a distinctive philosophy. (shrink)

In this chapter we will try to show how the introduction of Darwinian evolutionary theory transformed metaphysics, and in particular, the philosophical understanding of the temporality of being. In the interests of brevity, we will focus on two particularly significant aspects of the impact of Darwinism on Latin America. We will consider, first, how the new evolutionary thought transformed past notions of temporality. Second, we will discuss the ways in which the ideas of regression and extinction, viewed as essential components (...) of the evolutionary process, problematized the nature of progress and civilization. We trace these developments in the work of three central figures of Latin American thought: José Martí, José Rodó, and Euclides da Cunha. All three of these men were extraordinarily versatile thinkers, and each has been the subject of voluminous secondary literature. But the first two, unlike some other influential figures—such as, famously, Domingo Sarmiento of Argentina—were hardly self-professed Darwinians. Still, we have chosen to discuss them because of this last fact, and not despite it. As for da Cunha, though he accepted the basic canons of the new evolutionary theory, he remained ambivalent about its application. All three struggled, each in his own way, to come to terms with the Darwinian legacy, and each found his thinking profoundly shaped by this struggle; they offer us three different, unique perspectives on the impact of Darwinism. The magnitude of the new evolutionism can only be understood if we consider the wide range of discussion it triggered in consequence of its profound philosophical impact. (shrink)

This chapter contains sections titled: Identity Identity of Latin American Philosophy Four Approaches History of the Controversy Conclusion References Further Reading.

This chapter contains sections titled: References.

En el presente trabajo intentaremos abordar una problemática crucial para todos aquellos pensamientos latinoamericanos que han pretendido escapar de las lógicas discursivas coloniales y eurocéntricas. Tomando como base las tesis del filósofo colombiano Santiago Castro-Gómez, trazadas en su obra Crítica de la razón latinoamericana, argumentaremos que no se puede combatir la colonialidad eurocéntrica que todavía subyuga a América Latina empleando el mismo lenguaje y las mismas construcciones discursivas a través de las cuales se articuló y materializó ese dominio. Porque, utilizando (...) estos elementos, permaneceríamos anclados o encerrados en la narrativa hegemónica que Occidente utilizó, precisamente, para dominar a otros pueblos. (shrink)

Centuries after the Conquest of our America, we continue to be questioned ethically and geopolitically by its scope and meaning; and the voracity of its logic can be extended to the most sensitive dimensions of education. The pedagogical link refers to certain nuclei of meaning -the dominator-dominated relationship, the resistance- and to a set of metaphors that allude to symbolisms such as “food”, “nutrition” and “natality”. The devastating temporality of the conquering Kronos faces the multiplicity of the vital and the (...) event of the “radical novelty”. (shrink)

Due to great importance in the construction of theories it is imperative to analyze the nature of time and space and their use by scholars, societies and subjects. This text is the product of such analysis. My claim is that the validity of an argument depends on the spatial and temporal conditions that it is produced in. Moreover, I posit that time and space have been used in order to impose regimes of oppression over different collectives. My intention, however, is (...) not only denounced these uses because the oppression of the societies, to present the lack of such arguments. In other words, arguments based on universality of time and space have been the cornerstone of modern knowledge. This knowledge justifies regimes of oppression in different parts of the world. However, the intention of this analysis is not to denounce the lack of humanism in this knowledge, but to present the falsehood or incompleteness of this knowledge. It is not only wrong because its lack of humanity which justifies the inhuman regimes of oppression. It is also wrong, since its premises are false. (shrink)

Este ensayo propone una hipótesis: que el modelo de Sujeto “educable” y “moral” que expone José Enrique Rodó en su Ariel puede corresponderse con el ideal de mousikós (??st?ó?), término griego que, según ciertas acepciones, se traduce por “culto” o “cultivado”, y que designaba a las personas eruditas.