Download Studying Latin American Philosophy

Studying Latin American Philosophy

Dr. Carlos Sanchez
– San Jose State
University

American
Philosophical
Association Prize in
Latin American
Thought, 2006
From Ofelia Schutte:

“The reflections forming part
of this study are derived
from an effort to understand
the relationship between
liberation, cultural identity,
and Latin American social
reality from the standpoint
of a historically rooted
critical philosophy.”

Schutte, Ofelia. “Cultural
Identity and Social
Liberation in Latin
American Thought.”
SUNY, 1993

Ph.D. in philosophy,
Yale University, 1978.
Born in Cuba…

Questions of
both a personal
and an
intellectual
nature have
given rise to this
study.”
 Ibid.
Some items worthy of note:
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There is often a heightened consciousness about the influence of and response
to major European and North American Schools of Thought, (e.g. positivism and
Marxism).
Questions arise about adopting pluralistic theoretical perspectives vs.
developing “authentic” or “correct” versions of identity.
Within Latin American Philosophy, there is a strong tradition called
“pensamiento” which is “literary, political and philosophical thought articulated
primarily in essay form – within a distinctly interdisciplinary context.” (p.4)
In critical analysis, perspective is important. This idea is similar to that of
Nietzsche’s idea of perspectivism: “…this study is interpretive in nature and
constitutes one of a number of perspectives that may be given on the subject
being addressed.” (p.5)

Schutte recognizes that for Latin America, Feminist academic philosophy is in
the early stages of development but she feels it is critical to include the voices
and concerns – especially in the area of social liberation – in this survey and
thus work towards developing a more inclusive perspective.
Analytic Philosophy

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Holds that philosophical problems
could be solved by logically
analyzing key terms, concepts or
propositions.
Goal is discovery of universal or
objectively true statements

Emphasis placed on science and logic

Method emphasizes clarity and
precision of expression.

Dominate areas include logical
positivism or ordinary-language
philosophy, Philosophy of Mind,
Symbolic Logic, Philosophy of
Science, and Normative Ethics.
Continental Philosophy:

Historical context is critical & is
thought of as essential to
understanding or assigning meaning

The domain of experience may be
privileged.

The role of imagination and belief in
the impossible is not discounted

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Method allows for creative literary
expression “producing a kind of
abstract poetry.” (Gary Gutting, New York Times)
Includes such philosophical
movements as phenomenology,
existentialism, Hegelian idealism,
Marxism, hermeneutics and,
especially, poststructuralism and
deconstruction.

A famous debate between Jacques Derrida
(continental) and John Searle (analytic)
ended with Searle denouncing Derrida’s
“obscurantism” and Derrida mocking
Searle’s “superficiality.”

Gutting, Gary. "Bridging the Analytic-Continental Divide." Opinionator Bridging the AnalyticContinental Divide
Comments. New York Times, 19 Feb. 2012. Web. 25 Jan. 2015.
<http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/bridging-the-analytic-continental-divide/>.
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It can often be a little of both & it will depend on
the training and background of who we’re
reading; Many Latin American philosophers were
trained in British, European and North American
institutions and have been influenced by
positivism or Marxism, and one can find
examples of both analytic linguistic analysis and
the much less structured problem-oriented
analysis.
It is important to remember, Latin American
Philosophy isn’t always or even necessarily
produced by career, academically trained
philosophers; we will also be reading essays by
novelists, politicians, sociologists,
anthropologists, revolutionaries, artists, and
poets.
There’s usually a heavier emphasis placed on the
importance of historical context and the insights
particular to one’s experience of coloniality or
marginality, the writing is often emotional and
passionate...and sometimes the language is
definitely poetic, imaginative - verging on the
fantastic and more than a bit obscure!

Ultimately, some contemporary
philosophers are finding insights
from philosophers in both camps
and argue that the divide is no
longer such a useful distinction
since it was institutionalized in the
1960’s.

“…the goal of the
investigation is to
document and
analyze a diversity of
intellectual positions
and/or movements
that, to some extent,
have been
representative of
philosophically
significant
concerns….” (p4)
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“The study of Latin American Philosophy in the United States has so
far been constructed by a small group of specialists.” (p.6)
This work often proceeds from “a standpoint of a universally
accepted rationality rather than as a offspring of Latin American
social and political reality.” (p.6)
There are great differences both between North American and Latin
American cultures and within Latin American cultures and these
differences “need to be respected.” (p.7)
Latin American philosophers often face economic, social and
political challenges that can severely impact their ability to connect
with the world-wide academic community and to disseminate
knowledge.
Much of the work is originally written in Spanish or Portuguese and
there is still a good bit of it that is not available in translation.
Further, many North American and European philosophers lack the
linguistic, historical and sociological body of knowledge to fully
understand this literature as it was written and much may be lost in
or completely elude translation.
1.
2.
3.
4.
First figure out what is the main question that the
philosopher is addressing. Usually the best place to find
this is in the title but sadly…not always.
Then look for a thesis statement that gives you some clue
where that philosopher wants to take you. Some
philosophers are kind enough to use certain words and
phrases that are signifiers of a conclusion. Some even
separate and identify a section called “Conclusion.” (In the
assigned essay by Jorge Gracia, he writes fairly early
towards the beginning, “My overall thesis is…” and he gives
us a concluding section marked clearly as such. Very
generous!)
Once you have the destination, then look for the central
reasons offered in support of the philosopher’s central
thesis.
Remember that there are nearly always sub-arguments to
support the main premises (reasons offered in support for
the argument) so don’t get too frustrated by what initially
may look like a maze of disconnected ideas or garden-path
excursions.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Look for words that may be commonly used but seem to be
used in a technical fashion in the essay – one clue is when the
philosopher spends time specifying what they mean (common
culprits include: identity, liberation, experience, happiness,
knowledge, self, justice, etc…).
Allocate enough time to read slowly, schedule your reading
when you’re not exhausted or distracted and be prepared to
read the essay more than once.
Read interactively – that is, ask questions as you go along as
if you could have a conversation with the philosopher.
Take notes as you read – writing marginalia, highlighting and
schematizing can all be very useful tools for increasing your
comprehension.
Try to suspend judgment until you have read (and
understood) the entire essay – the time for critique is after
some reasonable comprehension is achieved.
10.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly,

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John Perry (Distinguished Professor
of Philosophy at the University of
California at Riverside, and Henry
Waldgrave Stuart Professor of
Philosophy Emeritus at Stanford
University) and Ken Taylor (current
Henry Waldgrave Stuart Professor of
Philosophy at Stanford University)
explore Latin America’s philosophical
traditions with Joseph Orosco,
director of the Peace Studies
Program at Oregon State University,
author of Cesar Chavez and the
Common Sense of Nonviolence.
Recorded live at OSU in Corvallis.
https://beta.prx.org/stories/101853
/details