Abstract

The dissertation presents and critically evaluates the claim by Enrique Dussel that 'peripheral' Latin America provides philosophy with an origination that allows it to be 'authentically worldwide.' As described by Dussel, the outstanding and defining characteristic of the Latin American periphery is its subordination and domination by 'Europe,' the powerful 'center' of a Totality that regards itself as all-encompassing. The symbiotic nature of the 'center'-'periphery' relationship is both a fundamental premise and a central theme of Dusselian philosophy. ;Dussel does not claim that the Latin American context, in and of itself, immediately furnishes the philosopher with a universal perspective, but rather, that the manner in which peripheral Latin America is 'distinct' from 'Europe' is of global philosophical significance. He sees the possibility of an 'authentically worldwide' philosophy as being intimately linked to the possibility of transforming what has hitherto been an unequal, 'monological' Same-Other relationship of domination into a 'dialogical' encounter based upon mutual recognition and respect. Like Levinas, Dussel believes that the dominant Totality can only be 'breached' from 'exteriority'; the dialogical initiative must come from the periphery. His 'de-structive' critical reading of the 'European' tradition from the peripheral perspective should be regarded as the first, 'provocative' step in a process which, he hopes, may lead to dialogue and, subsequently, to an 'authentically worldwide' philosophy. In particular, the dissertation will explore whether Dussel succeeds in establishing that his philosophy's origination is really 'meta-physically exterior,' and whether he does so in a manner that supports the claim of 'worldwide' significance