In this article, Carlos Pereda introduces the concept of “colonial reason” and explores how philosophical practices and modes of thought are entwined with colonial political structures of exploitation, exclusion, and oppression. Pereda argues that philosophy in Latin America risks perpetuating and reinforcing the colonial gesture, either by turning to the European centers of thought (thus pursuing debates that always take place elsewhere) or by isolating itself and idealising the “own.” According to Pereda, both approaches fail to (...) dismantle colonial violence within philosophy. In his alternative approach, Pereda outlines principles and methodological criteria for the decolonisation of reason and philosophy. He emphasises the importance of methodological prudence that discerns between innocent, paralysing, and strategic uses of identity expressions and advocates for modes of reading and argumentation that conceive philosophy as an inclusive and ongoing dialogue. In Pereda’s terminology, this entails fostering “permeable reason” that manifests itself through “nomadic thinking,” a form of thinking that is capable of questioning itself and being questioned. (shrink)

Las preguntas importantes, o que parecen importantes, no tienen por qué tener respuestas importantes, incluso no tienen por qué tener respuestas. Me propongo explorar qué respuestas, importantes o no importantes, puede recibir, si es que puede recibir alguna respuesta, la importante pregunta “¿qué es un buen argumento?”.Important questions, or questions that seem important, need not have important answers, moreover, they need not have answers at all. I propose to explore what answers, whether important or not, we could obtain, if some (...) answer can be obtained at all, to the important question “what is a good argument?”. (shrink)

: "We are invisible": this melancholic assertion alludes to the "non-place" that we occupy as Latin American philosophers or, in general, as philosophers in the Spanish or Portuguese languages. We tend to survive as mere ghosts teaching courses and writing texts, perhaps some memorable ones, which, however, seldom spark anybody's interest, among other reasons, because almost no one takes the time to read them. In saying this, I do not mean to call upon a useless pathos, nor do I mean (...) to complain, or thrust forth a challenge. I am simply confirming a fact, and a widely acknowledged one at that. I wish to inquire a little into this invisibility. Later I will look into how the experience of our much acclaimed essay may help in fighting it. (shrink)

This book offers an account of exile in terms of the perspectives of morality, politics, literature, anthropology, and history. It also explores the moral implications of exile and how it connects to the meaning of life.

The German philosophical tradition has always been open to challenges that can be seen as a continuum. This text discusses Friedrich Nietzsche as a master of wild challenges and Martin Seel as a master of friendly challenges, often blurring the line between them. In doing so, it challenges traditional truth debates by raising questions about the circumstances of truth and the practical aspects of truth orientation. Because Seel uses challenges as hermeneutical resources, he conceives of challenge as a method for (...) encouraging new approaches in philosophical thought. (shrink)

The author explores some unexpected ramifications of Seel’s paper. Pereda considers what he believes may be reconstructed in Seel as an argument for the existence of free minds. He shapes this reconstruction in a somewhat extravagant way and strongly departing from Seel’s text, taking Moore’s external world argument as a model. Then he briefly considers the form of both arguments, to later take up again the concepts of deliberation and reason that Seel employs. Finally, Pereda returns to ask (...) in what sense Moore’s and Seel’s arguments may be defended and what consequences this would have. (shrink)

1. Estrategia de las dos inculturas -- 2. Hay que defender la primacía de la moral? -- 3. La identidad personal en conflicto, el reconocimiento del otro, también en conflicto? -- 4. Historia y desprecio.

This book presents practical holism as a framework for understanding the ways in which our society and individual lives are affected by moral, legal, political, economic, and other considerations. Only nomadic thought is able to capture the interactions among all those crucial aspects.

Las palabras no pocas veces embrollan, y llevan por el mal camino a creencias, deseos, emociones y, previsiblemente, a acciones. Así, con frecuencia, provocan sucesivos desastres en nuestras vidas. Por eso, a menudo antes de comenzar a discutir sobre cualquier cosa, hay que tener en cuenta la regla de prudencia que advierte.

En esta nota crítica (i) se hace una breve descripción de cada uno de los artículos que componen Orayen: de la forma lógica al significado, (ii) se señalan algunas cuestiones que no están claras en ellos o en las réplicas de Orayen y, (iii) en la medida de lo posible, se indica si los autores desarrollan ulteriormente los problemas abordados en sus artículos. The aim of this critical note is threefold: (i) it briefly describes and comments on each of the (...) articles of Orayen: de la forma lógica al significado; (ii) identifies some issues that may not be clear enough or not fully developed whether in the articles or even in Orayen's replies; (iii) as far as possible, it refers to further studies made by the authors themselves on the same, or quite related, subjects addressed by them in their papers. (shrink)

No cabe duda: ha habido y hay muchas y muy diferentes culturas o, si se prefiere, porque las culturas se suelen constituir y desplegar en el tiempo, muchas y muy diferentes tradiciones. Por difusos que sean sus límites y por vagos que sean sus modos de organizarse internamente, en algún grado, cada cultura, cada tradición, condiciona y, no pocas veces, hasta conforma lo que los miembros de una o varias sociedades, incluso en muy largos períodos, desean, creen, sienten, esperan... y, (...) en consecuencia, actúan. Sin embargo, ¿cuáles son algunos de los efectos más persistentes de esta multiplicidad de culturas, de tradiciones: del tan ruidosamente aplaudido, y también no menos ruidosamente lamentado multiculturalismo? [Fragmento]. (shrink)

Partiendo de algunas reflexiones de L. Villoro se reconstruyen varios engaños-fetiches muy arraigados: la alternativa consensos/disensos, el entusiasmo nacionalista o los usos y costumbres como la última palabra, un concepto no razonable de razón. Respecto de este último engaño se enriquece la discusión con algunas observaciones de J. Muguerza.

Este trabajo explora el concepto moral kantiano de autonomía a partir de su entorno conceptual, resaltando las diferencias y similitudes con los conceptos de independencia personal y autenticidad. A la luz de la filosofía moral kantiana, autenticidad e independencia personal parecen ser ideales de vida próximos a la autonomía; sin embargo, a partir de un análisis más detallado se revelan como sus patologías. La autonomía kantiana se define más bien como la capacidad del animal humano de autolegislarse de acuerdo con (...) las mejores razones, siempre abiertas a la crítica y sin otro límite en la argumentación que el de la dignidad de las personas. (shrink)

El pensamiento nómada de Carlos Pereda es un intento de escapar de la razón arrogante hacia la razón porosa a través de máximas que nos animan a hacer todo tipo de preguntas, incluso las que provocan escándalo. Objeto a Pereda con tres cuestionamientos. La primera interrogación se refiere a por qué si el pensamiento nómada se desplaza de un lugar a otro, no puede apartarse de sus propias máximas. La segunda pregunta si el modelo interactivo de resolución (...) de controversias es universal o particular y cómo este modelo interactivo puede resolver agravios históricos. Por último, la tercera interrogante atañe a cómo este panfleto nos puede hacer ver lo común en una forma de emancipación y resistencia política. (shrink)

Carlos Pereda califica mi concepción de la moral de realismo particularista y objeta a mi defensa tanto del realismo como del particularismo. En mi respuesta trato de mostrar cómo nuestras discrepancias en torno al papel de los principios en la deliberación moral es, excepto en un punto crucial, cuestión de énfasis. No ocurre lo mismo, sin embargo, con mi reivindicación del realismo moral, pues parte de lo que intento mostrar en el libro es que los programas constructivistas de (...) los que habla Pereda no pueden pensarse coherentemente. \\\ Carlos Pereda presents my view about morality as a sort of particularist realism and objects both to my defence of realism and that of particularism. In my reply, I argue that our discrepancies about the role of principies in moral deliberation is, except in a crucial respect, a matter of emphasis. Something quite different happens, however, with my vindication of moral realism. For part of what I try to show in my book is that constructivist programs like the one suggested by Pereda cannot be coherently thought. (shrink)

En Libertad. Un panfleto civil, Carlos Pereda reconstruye una disyuntiva central en relación con las posibles interpretaciones del valor sobredeterminado de la libertad: o la libertad se entiende como autenticidad o se asume como autonomía. El modelo más simple de la primera alternativa postula una estructura jerárquica de deseos y habitualmente se lo vincula con la obra temprana de Harry Frankfurt. En el análisis que sigue, trataré de mostrar que la introducción de la noción de amor en la (...) perspectiva frankfurtiana permite considerarla una versión que supera la disyuntiva entre autonomía y autenticidad al avanzar por un tercer camino: la idea de libertad como autorrealización, es decir, como la puesta en práctica de la capacidad de amar que permite a las personas bosquejar y perseguir ciertos fines últimos. (shrink)

Resumen Describo tres caminos de personalización: el de la autenticidad, el del reconocimiento y el de la compenetración. En cada uno de ellos se corre el riesgo de caer en “vértigos existenciales” como los descritos por Sören Kierkegaard y Carlos Pereda. Con base en lo anterior, ofrezco una interpretación de la película de Ingmar Bergman Persona y propongo algunas estrategias para el cuidado de la persona.I distinguish between three paths of becoming a person: the path of authenticity, the (...) path of recognition, and the path of deep empathy. In each there is a risk of falling into ‘existential vertigoes’ as the ones described by Sören Kierkegaard and Carlos Pereda. Based on this, I provide an interpretation of Ingmar Bergman’s film Persona and suggest some measures for a person’s self-care. (shrink)

En Vértigos argumentales, Carlos Pereda propone una clasificación de teorías fundacionistas sobre la justificación epistémica y sugiere que algo similar se puede hacer para la justificación práctica. Aquí desarrollo una clasificación de teorías acerca de la justificación moral en los mismos términos. Finalmente, analizo cómo sería lo que Pereda llama una teoría multifundacionista de la justificación en ética.

This book brings the history of Latin American philosophy to an English-speaking audience through the prominent voices of Mauricio Beuchot, Horacio Cerutti-Guldberg, María Luisa Femenías, Jorge J. E. Gracia, Oscar R. Martí, León Olivé, Carlos Pereda, and Eduardo Rabossi. They argue that Spanish is not a philosophically irrelevant language and that there are original positions to be found in the work of Latin American philosophers.

Argues that there are original positions to be found in the work of Latin American philosophers. This book brings the history of Latin American philosophy to an English-speaking audience through the prominent voices of Mauricio Beuchot, Horacio Cerutti-Guldberg, María Luisa Femenías, Jorge J. E. Gracia, Oscar R. Martí, León Olivé, Carlos Pereda, and Eduardo Rabossi. They argue that Spanish is not a philosophically irrelevant language and that there are original positions to be found in the work of Latin (...) American philosophers. Part I of the book looks at why the history of philosophy has not developed in Latin America. A range of theoretical issues are explored, each focusing on specific problems that have hindered the development of a solid history. Part II details the complex task of writing a history of philosophy for a region still haunted by the specter of colonialism. Arleen Salles is Assistant Professor in the Department of Art, Music, and Philosophy at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, The City University of New York. Elizabeth Millán-Zaibert is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at DePaul University and the coeditor (with Jorge J. E. Gracia) of Latin American Philosophy for the 21st Century: The Human Condition, Values, and the Search for Identity. (shrink)

This article addresses the issue of social conflict from the epistemology of “deep disagreements”. Unlike other types of disagreements, deep ones generate incommensurability and cannot be corrected through rational argumentation, precisely because it can amplify the disagreement and exacerbate the problem. At the base of these divergences lie two irreconcilable epistemological positions: infallibilism and fallibilism. The infallibilist style of argumentation is embodied in attempts to find objective truth through final and conclusive evidence. Such a position induces them to defend their (...) own beliefs through vicious cycles that Carlos Pereda has called "argumentative vertigos", generating different silencing and devaluation strategies based on identity prejudices. Dizzying argumentation can even lead to an epistemic annihilation of the Other as a valid interlocutor. This phenomenon is presented as "epistemicide". In this work, the analysis of the frictions, tensions and disputes that can be activated in the course of the production and validation of knowledge is taken further, to probe the conditions under which devaluation and annihilation may be perpetrated. against himself. I call this phenomenon “autoepistemicide”, and I draw a comparison between this concept and its concomitant in the clinical setting: that of “Gaslighting”. Finally, I extract the most important reflections of the article, opening new horizons for future research. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Journal of the History of Philosophy 40.2 (2002) 274-275 [Access article in PDF] Book Review Perspectives on Habermas Lewis Edwin Hahn, editor. Perspectives on Habermas. New York: Open Court, 2000. Pp. xiv + 586. Paper, $29.95. This collection of essays on the wide-ranging body of thought produced by Jürgen Habermas over the course of close to fifty years represents a significant lost opportunity. Although originally planned as a volume (...) in the Library of Living Philosophers series, in 1999 Habermas pulled out of the project because, as Hahn tells us, "of other events in his life" (ix). Volumes in this series have typically provided unique and valuable resources: not only quality secondary essays by leading contemporary philosophers, but essay-by-essay responses by the featured philosopher, as well as an intellectual autobiography, and a useful bibliography. Unfortunately, the present volume not only lacks Habermas's responses to the contributors, an intellectual autobiography, and a bibliography of his works, but is also comprised of essays whose collective quality can only be considered notably erose, containing essays of both significant and questionable value.First the bad news. Of the twenty-nine essays just over half are not worth reading for those either new to, or long familiar with, Habermas. The great majority of these present significantly distorted or confused accounts of different aspects of his work, often apparently based on little or no familiarity with the primary source material, and close to none with the significant body of secondary literature. Some authors seem not to have read anything published in English translation by Habermas past 1973 or so, even though his two most significant works--The Theory of Communicative Action (1984 and 1987) and Between Facts and Norms: Contributions to a Discourse Theory of Law and Democracy (1996)--appeared later. Ignorance of the second of these is especially pronounced throughout and regrettable since many patently false claims about Habermas's positions on issues in political philosophy, legal theory, and social theory could have been avoided by consulting Between Facts and Norms, rather than deriving "Habermas's position" aprioristically from what one thinks he might say. Other essays present particularly nasty and personalized invective in the place of argument: one author for example, calls Habermas's political opinions "pathological," "inhumane," "exhibiting a seriously flawed sensitivity," and so "beastly" as to raise "profound questions about the writer's claims to superior rationality."The good news is that close to half of the volume contains important and stimulating work. Some of the best of this performs the crucial tasks of sensitively explicating Habermas's ideas, carefully critiquing them where needed, and finally extending the reformed ideas to new domains, new problems, and new issues. Exemplary in this way is James Bohman's [End Page 274] piece on reviving the project of ideology critique by using Robert Brandom's pragmatic inferentialism to cash out Habermas's notion of systematically distorted communication. Other useful articles on broadly epistemic themes include those by David Detmer, Richard Palmer, Carlos Pereda, and Beth Singer.Two essays--by Enrique Dussel and James Marsh--represent broad and incisive, yet sympathetic, critiques of Habermas for not sufficiently carrying through on the emancipatory promise of critical theory. Both point to a certain preoccupation in Habermas's work in moral and political theory with issues of rationality, proceduralism, and ideal justification that seems to have crowded out a practical focus on issues of poverty, inequality, and exploitation, especially as these are articulated through the emerging structures of global capitalism and along the fault lines separating West and East, North and South. Concurring in political upshot, but drawing on Habermas's new form of social contractarian argument, David Ingram argues provocatively that Habermas's ideals of social equality require much more radical forms of "market socialism" and direct democratic self-organization than Habermas himself is willing to endorse. Douglas Kellner's outstanding article gives a clear overview of Habermas's changing conception of the public sphere and its role in democracy, presents various criticisms of that, and argues for an account conceptually and evaluatively adequate to the emergence... (shrink)

El esteticismo y el moralismo son dos vicios de desmesura en los que se sobredimensionan los valores estéticos o morales en situaciones en las que están en juego otros valores que también deberían tomarse en cuenta, pero se subvaloran. Carlos Pereda sostiene que son patologías del juicio y argumenta que la literatura ha sido víctima de distintas variantes de estos vicios. Para ello, distingue entre diferentes formas de esteticismo y de moralismo, y analiza cómo algunas de ellas tienen (...) implicaciones a nivel semántico y de comunicación. Pereda propone un “modelo reflexivo” que contrarrestre el vértigo simplificador que representan estas patologías. En esta nota, examino críticamente la teoría de Pereda y propongo otros modos que puede tomar el análisis del esteticismo y del moralismo. (shrink)