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)

Este artículo trata sobre dos temas: cómo se establece el canon filosófico y las razones por las cuales la filosofía latinoamericana es generalmente excluida tanto del canon de la filosofía occidental como del canon de la filosofía a nivel mundial. El segundo tema permite ilustrar los problemas que surgen en el contexto del primero y proporciona una respuesta a ellos. El artículo sostiene que varias teorías que se proponen explicar la formación del canon y la exclusión de ciertos filósofos del (...) canon occidental en particular, no hacen justicia a la situación porque ignoran el papel de la tradición en el proceso. Más específicamente, se ilustra cómo la tradición explica por qué la filosofía latinoamericana tiende a estar ausente tanto del canon filosófico occidental como del mundial. This article discusses two topics: how the philosophical canon is established and the reasons why Latin American philosophy is generally excluded both from the canon of western philosophy and the canon of world philosophy. The second topic illustrates the problems that come up in the context of the first and provides answers to them. The article argues that several theories that purport to explain the formation of the canon and the exclusion of certain philosophers from the western philosophical canon in particular, do not do justice to the situation because they ignore the role of tradition in the process. More specifically, the article shows how tradition explains why Latin American philosophy tends to be absent both from the canon of western philosophy and the world canon of philosophy. (shrink)

: Much of Ofelia Schutte's work has been focused on the question of liberation, especially for women and for colonized peoples. In this paper I discuss some of the important contributions she has made toward understanding the difficulty of dialogue across differences of culture and power, and toward thinking through the relationships of culture, identity, and social justice. Although I generally agree with Schutte's positions, I try here to initiate a dialogue about some conflicting tendencies I see in her positions. (...) Specifically, I challenge her reliance on Nietzsche in developing a general approach to the question of liberation. (shrink)

Much of Ofelia Schutte's work has been focused on the question of liberation, especially for women and for colonized peoples. In this paper I discuss some of the important contributions she has made toward understanding the difficulty of dialogue across differences of culture and power, and toward thinking through the relationships of culture, identity, and social justice. Although I generally agree with Schutte's positions, I try here to initiate a dialogue about some conflicting tendencies I see in her positions. Specifically, (...) I challenge her reliance on Nietzsche in developing a general approach to the question of liberation. (shrink)

This dissertation is a critical re-assessment of Latin American philosophical tradition and its quest for an authentic philosophical identity. This re-evaluation is brought about through s distinct reading of the writings of the Peruvian Marxist, Jose Carlos Mariategui . The analysis which is exercised in this inquiry proposes that its philosophical production should not be considered as an obscure or secondary form of European philosophy, or in the most unfortunate case, as a radical denial of the latter's philosophical heritage. ;In (...) attention to the central question concerning this dissertation it is claimed that a hermeneutic strategy of devising a re-interpretation of a single theorist could yield preferable and more illuminating results than just an extensive survey of the numerous philosophers who belong to the Latin American philosophical tradition. The "case study" which has been performed is that of the Peruvian Marxist Jose Carlos Mariategui . ;This dissertation argues that regardless of the broad range of studies on the writings of this Peruvian revolutionary thinker, there is still much to say about his idiosyncratic interpretation of the Peruvian society of his times and about his eminently anti-dogmatic conception of Marxism. In his own discursive practice he unveiled a critical response to the inherent and rigid determinism of the Marxist dogmatic orthodoxy widely accepted in Latin America and the rest of the world during his lifetime. His self-education and theoretical practice is described as a virtual "ingestion" of the 1920s Marxism and many other non-Marxist philosophical and theoretical notions which were critically transformed into an innovative and effectual thought replete with revolutionary relevance. ;The purpose in stressing this point in Mariategui's critical "adaptation" of Marxism is to accentuate the undeniable Eurocentric core of Marxism with which the Peruvian thinker had to contend. The reading of Mariategui which has been suggested, characterizes his theoretical practice as an immanent critique of Eurocentric Marxism. The relevance that Mariategui's writings bear for the problem of Latin American philosophy can be posited as a critique by practice of the traditional discourses of legitimation imposed on non-Eurocentric forms of thought. (shrink)