This paper utilizes concepts from the works of Paulo Freire and other Latin American philosophers of liberation to formulate a philosophy of liberation in a North American context. Since many North Americans experience a double consciousness, that is, both oppressor and oppressed consciousness, our liberating task is quite complex. This study offers both a philosophical framework and an example of the process of demythologizing one aspect of North American consciousness, the consciousness of privilege.

Liberation means the act or process of trying to achieve equal rights and status. The Philosophy of Liberation page discusses the various issues related to Human Rights, Dalit Studies, Women Studies and ideas on Social Change.

El escrito se propone analizar la discusión metodológica desarrollada por Enrique Dussel en la época en que se formuló la filosofía de la liberación; lo que se afirma es que la filosofía de la liberación, en su versión dusseliana, se configura al modo de un diseño metodológico adecuado a la condición de alteridad latinoamericana. Desde este supuesto se abordan algunos puntos de la discusión dusseliana con la filosofía del concepto y con el pensar ontológico en vistas de la configuración de (...) la analéctica. Finalmente, se afirma que la formulación analéctica de la filosofía de la liberación es uno de los modos en que la filosofía latinoamericana desarrolla una propuesta crítica de la categoría de sujeto. This paper sets out to analyze the methodological discussion developed by Enrique Dussel at the time that the philosophy of liberation was formulated; what is stated is that the philosophy of liberation, in its dusselian version, configures an adequate methodological design to the condition of Latin-American otherness. From this assumption some points of the dusselian discussion are undertaken with the philosophy of the concept and with the ontological thinking in views of the configuration of the analectics. Finally, it is stated that the analectic formulation of the philosophy of liberation is one of the ways in which the Latin American philosophy develops a critical proposal of the category of subject. (shrink)

From its origins, the philosophy of liberation has had both a critical and a creative aspect. The first seeks to critically examine domination, dependency, and the permanent effects of colonization. The second aims to create and re-create the liberation of peoples, developing and reconstituting ways of existing, imagining, thinking, and philosophizing that surpass colonial ways of existing, imagining, thinking, and philosophizing. Thus, for the philosophy of liberation, the liberation of peoples is distinguished from the (...) notions of emancipation and freedom that hide reality under processes of ideologization. An example of the latter is modernity’s notion of emancipation. In this paper, I propose to approach the critical and creative function of the philosophy of liberation from a childist lens in which not only the voices of children are considered, but also the adultist and modern vision of emancipation is overcome. This will be particularly important to continue the legacy of the philosophy of liberation, and its mission to criticize and create from the political and philosophical participation of the victims in the processes of ideologization. From this legacy the children are participants, who, by engaging in pedagogical practices of liberation, act as un pueblo, a collective political actor without age. of the latter is modernity’s notion of emancipation. In this paper, I propose to approach the critical and creative function of the philosophy of liberation from a childist lens in which not only the voices of children are considered, but also the adultist and modern vision of emancipation is overcome. This will be particularly important to continue the legacy of the philosophy of liberation, and its mission to criticize and create from the political and philosophical participation of the victims of the processes of ideologization. Of this legacy, the children are participants, who, by engaging in pedagogical practices of liberation, act as un pueblo, a collective political actor without age. (shrink)

Proponents of the philosophy of liberation generally counsel that various forms of liberation in at least the Americas requires that we should fight Eurocentrism and resist the ontology and conceptual framework of Europe. However, most of the work done in this tradition relies heavily on the terminology and theoretical apparatus of various strands of European philosophy. The apparent disconnect between the aims and methods (or if you like, the theory and practice) has given rise to a (...) criticism I call The Eurocentrism Problem. I argue that the Eurocentrism Problem has not received an adequate reply, and that it reflects a number of underlying flaws in the philosophical program of the philosophy of liberation. These problems can largely be avoided if we significantly recast the philosophy of liberation, eliminating its reliance on the conceptual foundations provided by Levinas, Heidegger, and so on. (shrink)

In recent times, the world has seen an explosion of episodes of forced migration. Whether another state has led the attack, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or by its own state such as Myanmar, ousting the Rohingyas, this international political reality of forced exit can neither be denied nor ignored. Consequent to the international political reality, some states have tightened their borders as they hold nationalist concerns against immigration of such kind. Their concern stems from the philosophy of (...) nationalism which claims the protection of borders and sovereignty in light of the influx of refugees and the burden on the state. This paper aims to elaborate on the interaction of political and legal philosophy related to Liberalism and Nationalism. I put forward the hypothesis that the current reality of international politics - the influx of victims of forced migration such as refugees should be rethought with the application of the philosophy of liberal nationalism. Liberalism and nationalism are two very different moral and political philosophies. Liberal claims protect individual freedom, advocate open borders, and promote equality of all before the law and consent of the governed. Nationalist philosophy promotes the interests of the state, and advocates devotion to the state, its ideology, culture and ethos. In the context of forced migration, the ideas of these disunited philosophies can be utilised to balance and accommodate the concerns of refugees, states and citizens. For this, I will examine the philosophies of liberalism, nationalism and liberal nationalism, which present an inclusive form of nationalism. (shrink)

Current debates about liberal education have distracted us from responding intelligently to the growth and dominance of professional preparation programs. In 1828, the Yale faculty, confronted with similar circumstances, developed what may be the last widely influential philosophy of liberal education. It gives us a starting point, as does Plato's Republic. Democracy and the knowledge-based economy require us to articulate a new philosophy of liberal education. Using Kantian terminology, I argue that, whereas the basic purpose of professional preparation (...) is to produce heteronomous behavior, the purpose of liberal education should be the development of autonomous individuals. (shrink)

Resumen: La Regla de San Benito (RB) ha experimentado una revitalización en el panorama intelectual contemporáneo, trascendiendo su origen monástico para convertirse en un referente para diversos movimientos sociales y filosóficos. Siguiendo esta lógica hermenéutica actual, propongo una lectura de la RB a través de la lente de la Filosofía de la Liberación de Enrique Dussel, con el objetivo de explorar su potencial para ofrecer una crítica y una alternativa a los modelos de desarrollo imperantes de la Modernidad. En este (...) marco, distingo un primer momento poiético (naturaleza-cultura), centrado en el análisis de la revolución tecnológica y civilizatoria subyacente a la RB; y un segundo momento praxístico (cultura-cultura), en el que se destaca el opus benedictino como un ejemplo paradigmático de la “Nueva Política Económica de Liberación”, es decir, como una propuesta alternativa de organización social y cultural, capaz de superar las limitaciones del Capitalismo y el Socialismo Real del s. XX, ya que logra propiciar la reproducción de la vida material bajo parámetros éticos. Abstract: The Rule of Saint Benedict (RB) has undergone a revitalization in the contemporary intelectual landscape, transcending its monastic origin to become a reference point for various social and philosophical movements. By following this current hermeneutic logic, I propose a reading of RB through the lens of Enrique Dussel’s Philosophy of Liberation, with the aim of exploring its potential to offer a critique and an alternative to the prevailing development models of Modernity. In this framework, I distinguish a first poietic moment (nature-culture), focused on the analysis of the technological and civilizational revolution underlying RB; and a second praxistic moment (culture-culture), in which the Benedictine opus is highlighted as a paradigmatic example of the “New Economic Politics of Liberation”, that is, as an alternative proposal of social and cultural organization, capable of overcoming the limitations of Capitalism and Real Socialism of the 20th century, since it succeeds in fostering the reproduction of material life under ethical parameters. (shrink)

Until now, North American and European philosophies have been engaged in debates about the possibility of a postmetaphysical philosophy and the consequences of the linguistic turn for the assessment of modernity; they have done so, however, without departing from the narrow horizons of their respective nationalistic perspectives. In this incisive critique, Dussel demonstrates how most of thse philosophies have either failed to give historically faithful analyses of the genesis of the "myth" of modernity, or have never engaged in a (...) serious questioning of their own Eurocentric presuppositions. He shows how North American and European philosophers have presupposed a no-longer-acceptable philosophy of history that has led them to fall into a "developmental fallacy," the belief that there is a linear sequence that moves from the premodern, underdeveloped, or on the way to industrialization, to the modern, developed, and industrialized. (shrink)

In a 1986 article, "Third World Literature in the Era of Multinational Capitalism," Fredric Jameson concludes his study by contrasting the "situational consciousness" of first and third worlds in terms of Hegel's master/slave dialectic. On Hegel's theory, the slave "whats what reality and the resistance of matter really are" while the master "is condemned to idealism. Elaborating on this analysis, Jameson writes: "It strikes me that we Americans, we masters of the world, are in something of that very same position. (...) The view from the top is epistemologically crippling, and reduces its subjects to the illusions of a host of fragmented subjectivities ... This placeless individuality, this structural idealism which affords us the luxury of the Sartrean blink, offers a welcome escape from the 'nightmare of history,' but at the same time it condemns our culture to psychologism and the 'projections' of private subjectivity. all of this is denied to third world culture, which must be situational and materialist" (Jameson 1986, p. 85). This passage strikes me as providing a useful opening to discuss the relationship between modern Western philosophy and the new Philosophy of Liberation which has emerged above all from Latin America. One of the insights of the Philosophy of Liberation is that Western Philosophy is the philosophy of the center, of the metropoles, of white European males. Its concepts, problems, and problematics are identified with philosophy itself and other perspectives, other positions, are condemned to the margins (Dussel, pp. ). On this view, Western Philosophy is the philosophy of the masters of the world, of the dominant countries, cultures, and class. Is the Philosophy of Liberation, then, -- pursuing Hegel's master-slave metaphor --the philosophy of slaves, of the dominated, of the oppressed and if so what particular insights does this perspective reveal that is lost to western philosophy.. (shrink)

This article examines the views of Latin American philosophers on the process of formation of the Latin American subject of history, its characteristic features, as well as the role of the intellectual in this process. The main objective of this paper is to demonstrate the position of the prominent Argentine philosopher A. A. Roig, and to compare his position with the position of another well-known representative of the philosophy of liberation (E. Dussel). In this paper therefore, Roig's works (...) devoted to the philosophical interpretation of the process of formation and development of Latin American national thought are analyzed. It is established that in the writings of this thinker the activity of Latin American people appears as the activity of a single collective subject of history. During the study, we conclude that both philosophers (Roig and Dussel), come to the same idea in different ways: the intellectual identity of the Latin American collective subject of history is based on the history of interaction between the people of Latin America and Europe, unique in its dramatic nature and same for the entire continent. The work uses mainly the historical and bibliographic method, as well as the method of comparative analysis. (shrink)

Enrique Dussel's writings span the theology of liberation, critiques of discourse ethics, evaluations of Marx, Levinas, Habermas, and others, but most importantly, the development of a philosophy written from the underside of Eurocentric modernist teleologies, an ethics of the impoverished, and the articulation of a unique Latin American theoretical perspective. This anthology of original articles by U.S. philosophers elucidating Dussel's thought, offers critical analyses from a variety of perspectives, including feminist ones. Also included is an essay by Dussel (...) that responds to these essays. (shrink)

Enrique Dussel's writings span the theology of liberation, critiques of discourse ethics, evaluations of Marx, Levinas, Habermas, and others, but most importantly, the development of a philosophy written from the underside of Eurocentric modernist teleologies, an ethics of the impoverished, and the articulation of a unique Latin American theoretical perspective. This anthology of original articles by U.S. philosophers elucidating Dussel's thought, offers critical analyses from a variety of perspectives, including feminist ones. Also included is an essay by Dussel (...) that responds to these essays. (shrink)

The article concerns history, its origins, goals, and end. The article focuses on two concepts of historical development. One is the concept of the “end of history” by Francis Fukuyama. The article’s authors consider in detail the main provisions of this concept. However, the main emphasis is on the critical reception of this concept within the framework of the philosophy of liberation (represented by Arturo Andrés Roig). Roig’s criticism reveals the Eurocentrism inherent in this concept and shows that (...) it carries the main features inherent in the European worldview and European mentality, which is why it is initially perceived as unsuitable for the Latin American continent. The second concept of historical development analyzed in this article is the earlier concept of the “Axial Age” by K. Jaspers. This concept is often perceived as one of the most striking anti-Eurocentric concepts. At the same time, Jaspers himself is regarded as the founder of the dialogue of cultures and intercultural philosophy and a supporter of civilizational pluralism. The article consistently analyzes three aspects of this concept - the motivation for its creation (presented by Jaspers himself), the criteria for identifying historical and prehistoric cultures (and the associated identification of three centers of the axial period), and the question of the possibility of a new axial age. The article argues that Jaspers’ concept can rightly be called Eurocentric rather than anti-Eurocentric, since both in the initial motivation for creating this concept and in the process of its development and vision of the prospects for the possibility of a new axial age, Jaspers proceeds from the presuppositions characteristic of the European worldview, which is universalized by him and presented as objective and the only correct ones. Ultimately, the study shows that the fight against Eurocentrism is a logical continuation of the latter and carries all the main features of the European mentality. (shrink)

This paper suggests that liberal philosophy of education, which shares the implicit commitments of modern neutralist liberalism, also exhibits that political philosophy's theoretical inadequacies and inability to guide practice. It argues that neither theoretical perspective can redeem its claims to equally respect the demands of liberty and equity, when those claims rely only on arguments of procedural value. Consequent implications, for both educational theory and educational aims, are discussed.

This collection explores the core concepts of Ignacio Ellacuría's liberating philosophy; his critique of ideologies and continuity with critical theory; his philosophical anthropology and humanism; and the implications that praxis has for philosophical thought.

The essence of Dussel's thought is presented through the concept of "ethical hermeneutics" which seeks to interpret reality from the viewpoint of what Emmanuel Levinas presents as the "other" - those who are vanquished, forgotten, or excluded from existent socio-political or cultural systems. Barber traces Dussel's development toward Levinas' philosophy through his discussion of the Hegelian dialectic and through the stages of Dussel's own ethical theory.

What happened in New York City on September 11, 2001, creates an urgent need for a turn to practical reason, to ethics, to critique, and to a radical,transformative theory and praxis. Contemplation, speculation, pure theory, and contemplative metaphysics in philosophy, while necessary and valuable, are notsufficient in dealing with such an infamous crime against humanity. The central idea running through this paper and much of my work is that there is an essentiallink between rationality and radicalism. The aim of (...) this paper is to explore this link in an argument sketched in three parts: self-appropriation as the pearl of great price in philosophy; a critical theory of society; and a metaphysics and philosophy of religion that are both contemplative and political — a threefold radicality, if you like. This argument seeks to show negatively how the postmodern critique of rationality misfires, and positively how a post-imperial phenomenology, critical theory, and metaphysics/philosophy of religion can do justice to and recognize difference and the otherness of nature, other human beings, being itself, and God.Because in Vietnam the vision of a burning Babeis multiplied, multiplied, the flesh on firenot Christ’s, as Southwell saw it, prefiguringthe Passion upon the Eve of Christmas,but wholly human and repeated, repeated,infant after infant, their names forgotten,their sex unknown in the ashesset alight, flaming but not vanishingnot vanishing as his vision but lingering,cinders upon the earth or living onmoaning and stinking in hospitals three abed;because of this my strong sight,my clear caressive sight, my poet’s sight I was giventhat it might stir me to songis blurredWhy do men then not wreck his rod?Generations have trod, have trod, have trodAnd all is seared with trade, bleared, smeared with toilAnd wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell, the soilIs bare now, nor can foot feel, being. (shrink)

This chapter considers how Liberal Naturalism interacts with the main problems and theories in the philosophy of perception. After briefly summarising the traditional philosophical problems of perception and outlining the standard philosophical theories of perceptual experience, it discusses whether a Liberal Naturalist outlook should incline one towards or away from any of these standard theories. Particular attention is paid to the work of John McDowell and Hilary Putnam, two of the most prominent Liberal Naturalists, whose work was also very (...) influential in the philosophy of perception. There is also a section focusing on colour, an especially important topic not only for debates about perceptual experience but also for debates concerning how our ‘manifest image’ of the natural world relates to our best theories in the physical sciences. (shrink)

This chapter explores Nagel’s polemics. It shows these have a two-fold character: to defend liberal civilization against all kinds of enemies. And to defend what he calls ‘contextual naturalism.’ And the chapter shows that reinforce each other and undermine alternative political and philosophical programs. The chapter’s argument responds to an influential argument by George Reisch that Nagel’s professional stance represents a kind of disciplinary retreat from politics. In order to respond to Reisch the relationship between Nagel’s philosophy of science (...) and his politics is explored and this chapter shows how both are anchored in what Nagel once called his ‘contextual naturalism’—a metaphysics that resists imposing the unity of the world and treats all entities as embedded in a wider network of entities. Part of the argument traces out how Nagel’s views on responsible speech and professionalism reflect a distinct understanding of the political role of philosophers of science. (shrink)

This chapter explores Nagel’s polemics. It shows these have a two-fold character: (i) to defend liberal civilization against all kinds of enemies. And (ii) to defend what he calls ‘contextual naturalism.’ And the chapter shows that (i-ii) reinforce each other and undermine alternative political and philosophical programs. The chapter’s argument responds to an influential argument by George Reisch that Nagel’s professional stance represents a kind of disciplinary retreat from politics. In order to respond to Reisch the relationship between Nagel’s (...) class='Hi'>philosophy of science and his politics is explored and this chapter shows how both are anchored in what Nagel once called his ‘contextual naturalism’—a metaphysics that resists imposing the unity of the world and treats all entities as embedded in a wider network of entities. Part of the argument traces out how Nagel’s views on responsible speech and professionalism reflect a distinct understanding of the political role of philosophers of science. (shrink)

The mass movement of people across the globe constitutes a major feature of world politics today. -/- Whatever the cause of the movement - often war, famine, economic hardship, political repression or climate change - the governments of western capitalist states see this 'torrent of people in flight' as a serious threat to their stability and the scale of this migration indicates a need for a radical re-thinking of both political theory and practice, for the sake of political, social and (...) economic justice. -/- This book argues that there is at present a serious gap between the legal and social practices of immigration and naturalisation in liberal democratic states and any theoretical justification for such practices that can be made within the tradition of liberal political philosophy. How can liberal states develop institutions of democratic citizenship and at the same time justifiably exclude 'outsiders' from participating in those institutions? The book examines various responses to this contradiction within the liberal tradition, and finds none of them satisfactory - there are no consistently liberal justifications for immigration control and this has serious implications both for liberal practice and theory. (shrink)

Authors of two new and different but related books on Herbert Marcuse’s contemporary relevance present their respective arguments and then engage in discussion. Spatializing Marcuse: Critical Theory for Contemporary Times argues that a central problematic in Marcuse’s work—the containment of social change—is at root a spatial problematic. Walker undertakes the unexplored geographical elements of Marcuse’s thought. The Revolutionary Ecological Legacy of Herbert Marcuse—The Ecosocialist EarthCommonWealth Project is a praxis-oriented appeal to those engaged in a range of contemporary social justice struggles. (...) It is keyed to what we are struggling for, not just what we are struggling against. Each author develops revolutionary alternatives to the present system. Ultimately, what intertwines both works is the presentation of a new Marcuse. (shrink)

In the second half of the twentieth century, two persons had an enormous impact on one branch of philosophy: that branch was the philosophy of education, and these persons were R.S. Peters and I. Scheffler, the founding fathers of the analytic approach in this philosophical subdiscipline. This chapter, first, introduces and contextualizes the analytic school of thought in the philosophy of education. Preliminary, the identity of analytic philosophy as such is outlined. The focus is primarily on (...) showing how analytic philosophy of education is actually done, and not so much on enumerating theories or dropping names A companion to the philosophy of education. Blackwell, Oxford, 2003] already gave an informative catalog). Next, as an example of the analytic approach, the chapter details conceptions of liberal education and delineates justifications of its value. (shrink)

현대 한국의 실천철학자로 손꼽히는 하기락은 자주인(自主人)에 의한 해방의 철학을 개척하였다. 그의 『조선철학사』는 한국의 전통에서 아나키즘을 이끌어내려는 결과물이다. 단순히 한국 철학의 역사를 전개한 것이 아니라 자주인에 대한 사상의 역사를 서술한 것이다. 그가 말한 자주인은 계급과 권력 등의 강제된 폭력으로부터 자유롭게 해방된 인간을 말한다. 『조선철학사』에 따르면, 상고시대에 일찍이 사람들이 서로 협력하여 자유롭고 평화로운 공동의 생활을 유지하였다고 한다. 그는 이러한 점을 한국 아나키즘의 기원으로 논의하였고, 역사적 고찰을 시도하였다. 상고시대 이후 왕조의 교체와 분열로 인해 아나키즘의 정신은 쇠퇴하였지만, 조선중기 이후부터 정신이 부활된다. 대표적인 인물로는 서경덕, (...) 정약용, 최수운이 있으며, 근대에 이르러 신채호가 있다.BR 그는 사상사 기술에 있어 신채호의 영향을 많이 받았다. 하기락은 신채호의 고대 사상 관련 문헌들을 직접 인용하면서 이에 대해 평가하였다. 평가를 통해 신채호의 관점을 계승하거나 변용하며 한국 전통에서 아나키즘의 역사를 모색하였다. 하기락의 한국철학 연구는 궁극적으로 한국적 아나키즘의 전통을 성립하려는 기획이었으며, 동시에 현대의 국가중심주의에서 인간중심주의로 사유의 전환을 모색한 것이다. (shrink)

Although 1994 is popularly represented as a year of major transition from an oppressive society to a democratic one in South African history, it did not mark the end of White Supremacy but instead its evolution from one constitutional form into another. This is because the so-called “right of conquest” remains affirmed in South Africa by the much celebrated constitution Act 108 of 1996. Since the early 90s, Ubuntu has been employed by the elite parties involved in the “negotiations” for (...) the transition to the “new” South Africa, to justify the new society. This perverse employment of Ubuntu has been largely supported with the aid of sophistic academic posturing by the largely white academic establishment in South Africa and its network of international allies. Using African philosophical hermeneutics as a method, we will ground another interpretation of Ubuntu which stems from two interrelated roots. The first root is a firm understanding of and engagement with the Bantu languages and cultures which are its primordial philosophical basis on the one hand. The second is the study of the history of Ubuntu as lived and living philosophy responding to the challenge of the conquest of the indigenous people in the unjust wars of colonisation. Towards this end we will draw from the experience of Ubuntu -inspired movements in the history of the wars of resistance and the struggle for liberation ongoing since 1652. (shrink)

Journal of Philosophy of Education, Volume 56, Issue 2, Page 356-370, April 2022.

Arguments from stability for liberal nationalism rely on considerations about conditions for the feasibility or stability of liberal political ideals and factual claims about the circumstances under which these conditions are fulfilled in order to argue for nationalist conclusions. Such reliance on factual claims has been criticised by among others G. A. Cohen in other contexts as ideological reifications of social reality. In order to assess whether arguments from stability within liberal nationalism, especially as formulated by David Miller, are vulnerable (...) to a comparable critique, the rationale for their reliance on factual claims is discussed on the basis of a number of concerns in John Rawls’s political liberalism. The concern with stability in liberal nationalism differs from stability in Rawls’s work, mainly because of the stronger non-ideal or ‘realist’ focus of the former. In so far as the ‘realism’ of arguments from stability for liberal nationalism is recognized, they are not vulnerable to the reification charge. But if the arguments are construed as realist, this at the same time makes for other tensions within liberal nationalism. (shrink)

High cultures and the inter-regional system: beyond Hellenocentrism -- The material moment of the ethics, practical truth -- Formal morality, intersubjective validity -- Ethical feasibility and the "goodness claim" -- The ethical critique of the prevailing system : from the perspective of the negativity of the victims -- The anti-hegemonic validity of the community of victims -- The liberation principle -- Appendix I. some theses in the order of their appearance in the text -- Appendix II. Sais: capital of (...) Egypt. (shrink)