Latin American Philosophy as Metaphilosophy

Abstract

THERE ARE INDEED MANY GOOD REASONS FOR NEEDING (WANTING) TO STUDY (consider?) Latin American philosophy. In my case, for existential and personal reasons, I want to study Latin American philosophy to ground a personal sense of cultural integrity and gravitas. There are also demographic reasons for needing to be concerned with Latin American philosophy. As Latinos become the largest minority in the United States, our curriculum should be designed to address some of the educational and cultural needs of such a large group of people. There is an imperative need to integrate in the curriculum an understanding of the history, culture, and social forces that have shaped the lives of Latinos. Finally, there are curricular and pedagogical reasons for needing to teach Latin American philosophy. The last two decades have been decades of tremendous philosophical upheaval precisely because the epistemic matrixes that organized the production and presentation of knowledge have been so thoroughly destabilized. The end of the Cold