Journal of the History of Philosophy

318 JOURNAL OF THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY 32:2 APRIL 199 4 Ofelia Schutte. Cultural Identity and Social Liberation in Latin American Thought. New York: SUNY Press, 1993. Pp. x + 313. NP. In 1989 The Philosophical Forum devoted a double issue to Latin American philosophy. This was an important gesture which signalled a developing scholarly interest in this marginalized area. Schutte's articles have contributed significantly to this development. Her first book on the subject is a bold, important addition to the growing body of literature on Latin American Philosophy. In the seven chapters of the book, Schutte does more than merely trace the development of the themes of cultural identity and social liberation in Latin America from the 192os to the present; she treats these themes with philosophical attention and critically challenges them. Through the course of her historical narrative, Schutte argues that theories of social liberation in Latin America must be rooted in the unique social reality of its culture. This reality must include native Americans and women. Schutte approaches her topic from various disciplinary perspectives. This enables her to use philosophical, political, historical, religious, ethical and feminist perspectives in her study. The benefits of her method are clear--marginalized figures of a marginalized area are given scholarly attention. This attention, however, is divided among so many perspectives that some sections of the book lack a sharp focus. Schutte begins the book with a discussion of the Peruvian Marxist, Jos~ Carlos Mari~itegui 0895-193o ). Mari.~ttegui is presented as a figure who, in challenging the conception of ruling Marxist orthodoxy of the 192os, was able to adapt European ideas to Latin American culture and society, especially the indigenous population. His socialist anthropology is shown to be muiti-perspectival, bringing together elements of socialism , avant-garde European thought, and Peru's Indo-hispanic cultural legacy. In beginning in Peru with this "non-philosopher," Schutte challenges the established canon of the history of recent Latin American thought established by Francisco Romero, Leopoldo Zea, and others in Latin America, and by Jorge Gracia and Anibal S~inchez Reulet in this country. Schutte uses Mari.'ttegui as the cornerstone of her study. Most studies of cultural identity and social liberation in Latin America begin with discussions of Alberdi, Ortega y Gasser, and the German and French influences that affected Latin American thought at the beginning of the century. Often, the ideas imported from Europe then become the standard against which Latin American thought is measured. Schutte suggests that this is an alienating approach. This book is important because it primarily explores the interconnections among Latin American thinkers independent of their European sources. In her discussion of the ideas and questions that have shaped the creation of Latin American humanism, Schutte gives a clear account of how Samuel Ramos's existential, psychoanalytic approach to the problem of cultural identity was transformed by Leopoldo Zea into a critique of philosophy and the articulation of a mest/z0consciousness. The idealism of these two Mexican thinkers is contrasted with the materialism of the Peruvian Marxist Augusto Salazar-Bondy. Next, Schutte explores the influence of BOOK REVIEWS 3~9 Zea's notion of mestizaje on the Argentine philosopher, Arturo Andr6s Roig, and the Peruvian Francisco Mir6-Quesada. Zea's use of the concept of mestizaje recalls the thought of Mari~ttegui. Like Mariategui , Zea integrates European ideas with Latin American social reality. Hegel's notion of the subject as absolute spirit or consciousness for-itself is replaced by a pluralistic subject or consciousness for-us, the mestizo consciousness, a uniquely Latin American concept. The notion of consciousness for-us is then presented from the perspective of liberation theology, where it becomes consciousness on the side of the oppressed. The grass-roots approach of this movement is praised, for in working from the bottom up, it creates an authentic perspective of Latin American social reality. The contributions of the Brazilian educator Paulo Freire and the Peruvian Marxist Gustavo Guti6rrez are highlighted. The discussion of liberation theology is followed by an examination of the philosophical development that grew from it, liberation philosophy. Schutte's initial focus on the major contributors (Arturo Andr6s Roig, Horacio Cerutti-Guldberg, Enrique Dussel...