Course level: Undergraduate
Spring 2024
Syracuse University
This course serves as an introduction to Latin American Philosophy. We will focus on some of the most representative debates that have taken place throughout the history of philosophy in Latin America. We will begin by looking at the thought of philosophers wrestling with the Spanish conquest, the creation and maintenance of colonialism, and the rights of conquered Amerindians. Then we will move on to the ‘modernizing’ of philosophy, which helped to pave the way for the revolutionary wars of independence. We’ll examine why positivism was so appealing in the wake of independence, when the newly liberated peoples faced the challenge of forming stable, enduring national identities. Lastly, we’ll focus on post-WWII philosophy and the contemporary period. Some of the key themes we will discuss include: epistemic injustice, the conditions for cross-cultural communication, historicism, the foundations for ethical and political values and norms, the nature and value of science and art, the meaning of ‘progress’, the goals of education, philosophical anthropology, and the distinct contribution of Latin American feminisms.