Philosophy and Criticism in Latin America: From Mariátegui to Sloterdijk (Cambria Latin American Literatures and Cultures Se)

This book is in the Cambria Latin American Literatures and Cultures Series headed by Román de la Campa, the Edwin B. and Lenore R. Williams Professor of Romance Languages at the University of Pennsylvania. The objective of this book is not to recognize once again the sources of pre-Hispanic Amerindian or Afro-Hispanic thought in different regions and historical moments--a task that other critics have already accomplished admirably. Nor does this book attempt to return to the debates around the existence of a properly Latin American philosophy--a question that has also been thoroughly addressed. Rather, this book offers timely contributions to the process of conceptualizing a Latin American specificity and its forms of integration in larger contexts, both on the level of thought and the level of political and social praxis. To produce a critical reading of philosophy while also developing a philosophy of criticism is essential in cultures that continue to struggle for the decolonization of both thought and life. The first part of the book, "Biopower, Coloniality, and Emancipation in Latin America," examines authors and addressses questions from Latin American contexts in dialogue with some of the greatest thinkers of the twentieth century. These texts analyze the contributions of these authors to debates on such topics as the problems of colonialism and coloniality, the critique of modernity, and violence. Discussions of these issues give rise to other questions linked to the notions of freedom, social change, post/trans/modernity, biopolitics, and other topics that are particularly relevant for interpreting the processes of national formation and modernization and for understanding the developments that have taken place in the decades following the end of the Cold War. The second part of the book, titled "Critico-Philosophical Re-Readings and Debates," brings together texts that cover the work of philosophers whose ideas have strong links to Latin American thought. Benjamin, Foucault, and Bourdieu are all quite different thinkers, but they have in common the objective of deconstructing the discourse of power from different angles, providing forms of social consciousness that are in dialogue with Latin American critical and emancipatory projects on multiple levels. In addition to the above-mentioned philosophical directions, Peter Sloterdijk's undeniably polemical thought opens up a new path for the critique of humanism. These approaches are studied in the present book in texts that constitute moments of critical reflection which, while recognizing these authors' contributions to the development of critico-philosophical thought in peripheral areas, analyze aspects of their thought that can be interrogated and even challenged from a Latin American perspective. In this sense, this book suggests that, from the vantage point of Latin American cultural and political history, European philosophy, in spite of its claims of universality, clearly lacks satisfactory approaches to issues related to post/neo/colonial realities. With its interdisciplinary focus, this book will be an important resource for scholars and students in Latin American studies, comparative literature, world literature, and philosophy. "This book offers timely contributions to the process of conceptualizing a Latin American specificity and its forms of integration in larger contexts, both on the level of thought and the level of political and social praxis. To produce a critical reading of philosophy while also developing a philosophy of criticism is essential in cultures that continue to struggle for the decolonization of both thought and life. This book allows Anglophone readers access to the world of ideas of some of the most relevant Latin American thinkers of our age. Through a comprehensive discussion of the works and contexts of thinkers such as of José Carlos Mariátegui, Enrique Dussel, Bolívar Echeverría, and Roger Bartra to Walter Benjamin, Michel Foucault, Pierre Bourdieu, and Peter Sloterdijk, Mabel Moraña demonstrates that Latin American thought has not only been inseparable from Western philosophy but also from the determinants of its history and social struggles. By doing so, Mabel Moraña provides an extensive perspective on the connections between historical moments, social structures, and discursive practices. With its interdisciplinary focus, this book will be an important resource for scholars and students in Latin American studies, comparative literature, world literature, and philosophy"-- Provided by publisher Cover 1 Title 5 Copyright 6 Table of Contents 7 Translator’s Note 9 Introduction 13 Part I: Biopower, Coloniality, and Emancipation in Latin America 41 Chapter 1: Mariátegui in Recent Debates 43 Chapter 2: 1492 101 Chapter 3: Bolívar Echeverría and Latin America 117 Chapter 4: Modernity and Violence 139 Chapter 5: Journey to the Heart of Melancholia 155 Chapter 6: Biopolitics and the Social Body in Latin America 183 Part II: Critico-Philosophical Rereadings and Debates 203 Chapter 7: Foucault and Latin America 205 Chapter 8: The Philosophy of Walter Benjamin and Peripheral Modernity 227 Chapter 9: Bourdieu at the Periphery 255 Chapter 10: Scarcity, Modernity, Globalization 303 Chapter 11: The Toolkit of Affect 323 Chapter 12: The Question of Humanism in Latin America 339 Chapter 13: Humanism and Biopolitics 353 Works Cited 377 Index 413 Cambria Studies in Latin American Literatures and Cultures Series 437 About the Author 439