“The Americas Seek Not Enlightenment but Liberation”

On the Philosophical Significance of Liberation for Philosophy in the Americas

Dados Bibliográficos

ID23213613
AutoresGrant Silva (Marquette University), G Diaz Silva (Marquette University, autor correspondente)
Ano2018
Volume13
Fascículo2
Páginas1-21
Data de publicação2018-07-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoThe Pluralist (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1930-7365 • E-ISSN: 1944-6489
EditoraUniversity of Illinois Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.5406/pluralist.13.2.0001
OpenAlexW2805961238
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas1
Referências citadas32

LIBERATION IS A NOTION EMPLOYED by many philosophers, theologians, political theorists, and social thinkers engaged in sociopolitical action or in academic and theoretical critiques of multiple forms of oppression, exclusion, and domination.Throughout numerous examples, "liberation" often refers to the long-awaited triumph over oppressive social, economic, and political structures or regimes.In such works, however, the idea of liberation is rarely (if ever) parsed for philosophical meaning.At the root of such hesitation is valid concern: outside of a particular historical or sociocultural context, the idea of liberation is rather vacuous and perhaps even meaningless.Worse, as I contend, liberation is often reduced to approximations such as liberty, freedom, and even "equality," all of which can (unfortunately) set the stage for disappointment and disillusionment when oppressive structures withstand change.Amidst such concerns, might philosophical reflection on the idea of liberation itself yield insights into the nature of oppression and the importance of liberatory struggle against such things as racism, sexism, economic exploitation, the intersection of these, and more?While focusing on the idea of America, anti-racist struggle, and even philosophical embodiment, I argue that it does.Inspired by Latin American liberation philosophy, as well as philosophical and theoretical discourses and debates that can be considered part of a larger liberatory tradition, 1 this essay offers an account of the philosophical

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