In 1985, Marcel Gauchet published his book Le désenchantement du monde. Une histoire politique de la religion, which came to fill a gap in terms of great synthesis in the studies of sociology of religion. His analysis of religion shows that, far from being reduced to a superstructure, the religious has actively modeled collective reality and its political forms. Mobilized by the study of this book, more than twenty years ago, I published the article Para ler Gauchet, in the journal (...) Religion and Society. In this article, I return to the reading of Désenchantement du Monde and my own text to think critically the thesis of Gauchet from three lines of intersection within the current production of the social sciences of religion. The first is referred to the criticism of Thomas Csordas from the point o view of fenomenology. In the second, I discuss the subordinate place that religion occupies in Gauchet's thinking and propose the urgency of overcoming the dichotomy between the secular and the religious. The third line presents a critique of Western thinking from the postcolonial. (shrink)

First in-depth analysis of this important Mexican philosopher’s work.

This book introduces readers to central concepts and ideas in Mexican philosophy. Couched in stories and anecdotes from the author's life, the book offers these concepts and ideas as orientations, recommendations, or exhortation for navigating today's world. The structure and the style of the book aims at making these accessible to both specialists and non-specialist or anyone who may have had some experience with contemporary forms of marginalization, alienation, objectification, or any of the various forms of dread and accidentality familiar (...) to modern life. This, the author thinks, is most of us. Narrowing down the scope of the tradition, the author draws from the history of Mexican philosophy in the 20th century, as it is at this time that Mexican philosophy comes into its own. The book begins with two short introductions, one is an introduction philosophy in Mexico, the other to Mexican philosophy. Here, readers are introduced to Alfonso de la Veracruz, who offered the first philosophy course in the Americas in 1540 in the monastery of a small town in Michoacán, Mexico. From there, it presents four main themes from Mexican philosophy that recur in the philosophical literature. The remainder of the book serves as a "guide" for living a better, more fulfilling life. The main characters in what the author considers an uncontroversial retelling of Mexican philosophy are Antonio Caso, Samuel Ramos, Emilio Uranga, Leopoldo Zea, Jorge Portilla, Rosario Castellanos, Elsa Cecilia Frost, and, of course, persons in the author's own life. (shrink)

Editorial - Dossier: Sanctuaries and Religious Tourism Horizonte, Belo Horizonte, Vol. 16, No. 49, Jan./Apr. 2018.

El artículo examina tres propuestas de explicación del fenómeno de refracción de la luz formuladas por los pensadores medievales Roger Bacon, John Pecham y Erazmus Ciolek Witelo. Se muestra, en el caso de Bacon, que la explicación estaba soportada en una metafísica de la propagación de los poderes causales y anidaba un conflicto insalvable. En el caso de Pecham se muestra un mayor compromiso con la necesidad de una ley cuantitativa que, desafortunadamente, conduce a una explicación frustrada. Finalmente, se valora (...) el deseo de Witelo por introducir elementos cosmológicos en su explicación. (shrink)

Este artículo perteneciente a la sección de Bioética en Práctica de la revista Persona y Bioética 24, fue publicado originalmente en El Mundo, el primero de abril de 2019. La columna puede consultarse en esta URL https://www.elmundo.com/noticia/ Diagnosticospresupuestos-y-mercados/376170. Así mismo, el texto se dejó tal y como aparece en el publicado. El autor autorizó la publicación en esta revista y por ser una publicación para El Mundo, los derechos de autor no están bajo la licencia Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 4.0 Internacional (...) de la Revista. (shrink)

El pluralismo en América Latina ha permitido en años recientes la aparición de manifestaciones religiosas complejas y multilaterales que se expresan más allá de la lógica del catolicismo tradicional. Estas opciones operan a través de mecanismos simbólicos provisionales, híbridos y flexibles, subjetivados mediante éticas polivalentes vinculadas a la participación de nuevos actores sociales, quienes mediante espacios hermenéuticos diversos construyen una discursividad política vinculada a la comprensión de Dios a mediante sistemas teológicos abiertos. Tal es el caso de la agrupación religiosa (...) conocida como CEGLA (Cristianos Evangélicos Gays y Lesbianas de Argentina), que constituye una manifestación de formas de socialización religiosa expresadas más allá de las instituciones católicas. (shrink)

ABSTRACT This work proposes reflections on possible meanings constructed in the circulation of discourses that refer to the meaning of the term ‘competence,’ present in official documents that regulate the performance of Tilsp (Tradutores e Intérpretes de Libras e Português [Translators and Interpreters of Libras and Portuguese]). We start from the assumption that the meanings of a word are not completely static, but shift depending on the concrete situation and the interlocutors who use it. As a methodology, excerpts from official (...) documents that regulate Tilsp’s activities were analyzed. By surveying possible interlocutors brought into the documents, we were able to verify that the meaning of ‘competence’ slowly shifts as the documents are produced in their respective times. Firstly, the use of the term points to a hierarchy, later, this meaning undergoes another shift towards the construction and delimitation of Tilsp’s professional work field. Finally, ‘competence’ moves to the labor market in the relationship between supplier and customer. (shrink)

Thought and Social Engagement in the Mexican-American Philosophy of John H. Haddox : A Collection of Critical Appreciations.

In this paper I consider the notion of “moral ecology” in relation to the social/cultural construction known as “narco-culture.” My claim is that the moral ecology of narco-culture is one that is both destructive and prohibitive of human flourishing. The general idea of a “moral ecology” is that the moral space of human conviviality is not unlike an ecological, or environmental, space—both are constituted by various interdependent relations which, when working harmoniously and in optimal capacity, maintain the overall well-being of (...) its inhabitants. Within non-human ecosystems, the quality or health of rivers, trees, earth, air, predator-prey relationships, etc., define what Allen Hertzke calls the system’s “carrying capacity.” The carrying capacity refers to what the system can handle while staying balanced and healthy and also indicates the point beyond which the system, if overburdened or degraded, begins to fall apart. In a social setting, the ecology is constituted by moral rules and behaviors, the degradation of which can cause the degradation of the entire system. (shrink)

_In this symposium, Roberto A. Carleo III, Gregory Doukas and Imogen M. Sullivan think alongside Carlos Alberto Sánchez about the contingency of human existence as it is understood in Mexican existentialism. They ask: Should the notion of a metaphysical substance be discarded altogether due to its misuse in the history of European philosophy? Or are there philosophical reasons to avoid ontological uncertainty by, for example, postulating the notion of a non-discrete substance? And if attempts to define human substantiality (...) merely seek to defy this accidentality, should scholars with deviant identities deliberately engage in a wandering beyond dominant frameworks to evade the material and hermeneutical hostility of these frameworks? How should they work alongside others to best take up their responsibility? In his reply, Sánchez considers what the project of accidentalization would imply for each of these carefully-crafted interventions._. (shrink)

Contemporary popular culture is riddled with references to Mexican drug cartels, narcos, and drug trafficking. In the United States, documentary filmmakers, journalists, academics, and politicians have taken note of the increasing threats to our security coming from a subculture that appears to feed on murder and brutality while being fed by a romanticism about power and capital. Carlos Alberto Sánchez uses Mexican narco-culture as a point of departure for thinking about the nature and limits of violence, culture, and (...) personhood. A Sense of Brutality argues that violent cultural modalities, of which narco-culture is but one, call into question our understanding of “violence” as a concept. The reality of narco-violence suggests that “violence” itself is insufficient to capture it, that we need to redeploy and reconceptualize “brutality” as a concept that better captures this reality. Brutality is more than violence, other to cruelty, and distinct from horror and terror—all concepts that are normally used interchangeably with brutality, but which, as the analysis suggests, ought not to be. In narco-culture, the normalization of brutality into everyday life is a condition upon which the absolute erasure or derealization of people is made possible. (shrink)

This paper explores and expands upon Jorge Gracia's reasons for the apparent lack of Hispanics in US philosophy. The point is to explain the underrepresentation of Hispanics in philosophy, with a focus on a specific subgroup of Hispanics, namely, "homegrown" US Hispanics. This group wasentirely missing from the "established" ranks in Gracia's census. I propose a phenomenological explanation for this lack, rooted in my experience as ahomegrown US Hispanic. This experience gives rise to a sense of identity described as "post-immigrant." (...) Those of us in the American philosophical establishment who share this identity, or who feel its pull, desire but hesitate to fully and authentically engage philosophy and the philosophical life, where thisrequires an uncompromising insertion of our cultural and historical identity into what we write and teach. The reason for the absence of homegrown Hispanicphilosophers who are willing to engage issues related to their circumstance as Hispanics is what I call, "the post-immigrant fear.". (shrink)

Offers the first comprehensive survey of Mexican existentialism to appear in English. This book examines the emergence of existentialism in Mexico in the 1940s and the quest for a genuine Mexican philosophy that followed it. It focuses on the pivotal moments and key figures of the Hyperion group, including Emilio Uranga, Luis Villoro, Leopoldo Zea, and Jorge Portilla, who explored questions of interpretation, marginality, identity, and the role of philosophy. Carlos Alberto Sánchez was the first to introduce and (...) emphasize the philosophical significance of the Hyperion group to readers of English in The Suspension of Seriousness, and in the present volume he examines its legacy and relevancy for the twenty-first century. Sánchez argues that there are lessons to be learned from Hyperion’s project not only for Latino/a life in the United States but also for the lives of those on the fringes of contemporary, postmodern or postcolonial, economic, political, and cultural power. (shrink)

Wittgenstein defiende que los problemas filosóficos son ilegítimos. Sin embargo, no resulta del todo claro qué se entiende en general por problema filosófico, cuál es, pues, su naturaleza. El presente artículo intenta elucidar la observación de Wittgenstein que sostiene que la forma de un problema filosófico se puede presentar con la expresión “Yo no sé salir del atolladero” (IF § 123). En el artículo se elige, a manera de ejemplo, el escándalo kantiano, que demanda que demostremos con el uso de (...) la razón que la proposición “hay objetos físicos” es verdadera. Sin renunciar al ejemplo, se explora en qué sentido la expresión de Wittgenstein caracteriza en buena medida la naturaleza misma de la dificultad filosófica. En el ejercicio se atienden recomendaciones formales del Tractatus, terapias desplegadas en Sobre la Certeza y el recurso de distinguir entre sentido primario y sentido secundario de una expresión insinuado en las Investigaciones Filosóficas. (shrink)

In his new book, Carlos Alberto Torres, an internationally renowned critical theorist of education, explores the early writings of Paulo Freire whose ideas have had a tremendous and long-lasting impact on the world of pedagogy and politics. Torres analyzes Freire's works, from the 1960s and 1970s, before Freire gained worldwide recognition for his Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Offering an in-depth look into the formative thinking of Freire, Torres identifies how his ideas produced frameworks for educating global citizens, building (...) community and mutual respect, creating social responsibility, instilling an appreciation for diversity, promoting multiple literacies, and social justice education. This volume is the result of more than 3 decades of research with access to Freire's personal library and the archives of the Paulo Freire Institute, as well as the author's extensive conversations with Paulo Freire over two decades--Dr. Torres was Freire's adviser during his tenure as Secretary of Education in the Municipality of São Paulo, Brazil, 1989-1991. (shrink)

O objetivo deste artigo é discutir o modo como Husserl desenha a originalidade da subjetividade transcendental, frente à sua homônima psicológica. Se é certo que a noção de “imanência autêntica” pode apontar para as diferentes fronteiras entre o transcendental e o psicológico, resta que por si só ela não permite decidir nada quanto ao “modo de ser” transcendental, em sua diferença face ao “mundano”. Sendo assim, procura-se reconstituir alguns dos momentos centrais do esforço husserliano para construir um conceito de “subjetivo” (...) e de “subjetividade” que não se confunda mais com o “psíquico” da psicologia tradicional. (shrink)

Una conversación con Heidegger.--Kierkegaard hablando sobre dios.--Don Miguel de Unamuno.

Uma das questões que desafia educadores e educador@s [1], inserid@s no campo da relação que envolve os processos de ensino e de aprendizagem, consiste no papel da educação do ponto de vista da vida em sociedade. E uma resposta aceita de forma genérica aponta para a dimensão da humanização. Questiona-se: até que ponto a relação educativa possui a capacidade e potencialidade de humanizar? Como relacionar a construção do conhecimento à perspectiva de valoração que promova a sociabilidade humana? A partir destes (...) questionamentos abordamos duas dimensões fundamentais: a ética e a moral, campos que estão na base da cultura, do mito, das relações de poder e, portanto, da política. Assim, esse texto objetiva refletir sobre os impactos da ética e da moral nas relações de poder e no processo de humanização, apontando para uma relação dialógica, na perspectiva da alteridade, como uma das saídas viáveis para a humanidade. E para tanto, utilizamos Martin Buber (1974, 1987) e Paulo Freire (1979, 1983) como principais referências teóricas, pensando o papel da educação no enfrentamento deste problema. A partir das leituras, compreendemos o conceito de alteridade, que aponta para o caminho da desmitologização da realidade por meio desta mesma dimensão, que pode ser compreendida no campo da educação. Concluímos que, somente na perspectiva da ética, esta relação pode ser dialógica. E, somente na relação dialógica este processo pode ser transformador e libertador. Esse procedimento educativo potencializa relações de solidariedade e, consequentemente, humaniza em seu significado mais pleno de ser com @ outr@. [1] Utilizamos o símbolo “@” para referenciar de modo simultâneo os gêneros feminino e masculino. Trata-se de um posicionamento político-cultural que vem de encontro às normas gramaticais postas. (shrink)

En el artículo se examina la controversia entre extramisionismo e intramisionismo a propósito de la percepción visual. Se defiende que la evaluación del cierre de la controversia depende del explanandum que rastrea el filósofo/historiador en la reconstrucción que persigue. Si enfatizamos en los mecanismos causales, la controversia se cerró en favor del intramisionismo. Si enfatizamos en aspectos asociados con la intencionalidad o con la forma como ciertas afecciones mentales refieren a objetos externos, la controversia conduce a una conciliación entre intramisionismo (...) causal y extramisionismo mental. Finalmente, si ponemos en duda la necesidad de una distinción entre interno/externo, la controversia se disuelve por carecer de sentido. (shrink)

The focus of this paper is Mexican historicism. It has three objectives: first, to introduce English-speaking readers to the nature and history of Mexican historicism; second, to defend Mexican historicism against the charges of relativism usually raised against historicism in general and “Mexican” philosophy in particular; and third, to argue for what I call the transcendental, or alternatively, “liberatory,” nature of Mexican historicism—a nature with philosophical and political consequences. The hope is that by making the clarifications and determinations made here, (...) the tradition of Mexican philosophy, of which Mexican historicism is a key moment, may find its place in the increasingly pluralistic US philosophical landscape. (shrink)

This paper considers the nature of Heidegger’s Eurocentrism in regard to philosophy. Focusing primarily on “A Dialogue on Language,” I argue, first, that Heidegger recognizes the limits of the Eurocentric idea of philosophy and proposes its overcoming. Secondly, I suggest that the proposal to overcome philosophy is made in an attempt to protect philosophy from the encroachment of an otherness that challenges its very identity. This leads me to the view, thirdly, that Heidegger’s Eurocentrism about philosophy is compromising insofar as (...) he is willing, to a certain degree, to let go of philosophy’s European origin. This “thinning” out of Heidegger’s Eurocentrism, finally, opens the door to a consideration of the possibility for a non-Western, namely, a Latin American, or Mexican “philosophy.”. (shrink)

This chapter draws parallels between Leopoldo Zea and Stanley Cavell's thought. It forms the basis of this argument in their thought on circumstantialism. Cavell and Zea both reflect on the American circumstance, a circumstance conditioned by the discovery, colonizations, and nationalization of Americas, together with the American people's heroic desire to connect, continuously and urgently, with themselves and their destiny as Americans.