Epistemology and Domination

Problems with the Coloniality of Knowledge Thesis in Latin American Decolonial Theory

Bibliographic Data

ID4978397
AuthorsPaul A Chambers (0000-0003-4361-489X, Facultad de Educación y Ciencias Sociales do Tecnológico de Antioquia, Colômbia, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume63
Issue4
Publication date2020-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueDados (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0011-5258 • E-ISSN: 1678-4588
PublisherFapUNIFESP (SciELO) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1590/dados.2020.63.4.221
OpenAlexW3106360354
SCIELO_PIDS0011-52582020000400203
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited30

Latin American decolonial theory is built around the thesis of the "coloniality of knowledge", which claims that the socio-political domination of Latin America and other regions of the global periphery by European countries and the United States is directly related to the initial colonial imposition and subsequent cultural reproduction of so-called "Western epistemology" and science. I argue that the epistemological claims of four decolonial thinkers (Aníbal Quijano, Walter Mignolo, Enrique Dussel, Santiago Castro-Gómez) that make up the coloniality of knowledge thesis are problematic for several reasons: they are based on distorted and simplistic readings of Descartes, Hume and other Enlightenment figures; they make contentious generalizations about so-called Western epistemology; and they ultimately lead to epistemic relativism, which is a problematic basis for the social sciences and, contrary to decolonial aspirations, renders the subaltern unable to speak

Colonialism · Cultural relativism · Enlightenment · Epistemology · Eurocentrism · Human rights · Latin Americans · Political science · Politics · Relativism · Sociology · Subaltern · Anthropology · Latin American Cultural Politics · Law · Philosophy · Politics and Society in Latin America · Race, Identity, and Education in Brazil

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