Philosophy sin más?: Notes on the Value of Mexican Philosophy for Latino/a Life

Publication Date

1-1-2025

Document Type

Contribution to a Book

Publication Title

Latinx Philosophy Reader

DOI

10.4324/9781003385417-48

First Page

525

Last Page

535

Abstract

This essay argues that there is inherent value in reading Mexican philosophy and that reading Mexican philosophy is especially valuable to US Latinxs. I offer several reasons for this, the main one being that Latinxs do not always see themselves reflected in the idea of “America.” This idea—and everything that it entails—is seen as an otherness that is always beyond reach. There is thus an element of zozobra in Latinx life, an anxiety about origins and belonging. As Jorge J. E. Gracia put it two decades ago, “in one sense we [Latinos] are part of the country, but in another we are perceived as not belonging to it. And even when we are tolerated, we are never completely accepted.” In what follows, I propose that Latinxs must confront and embrace their otherness to the idea of “America.” This is not easy to do, but a model or blueprint has already been sketched by mid-20th-century Mexican existentialists. I begin with a brief overview of the Latinx circumstance, focusing on the way in which Latinxs have been altered, or othered, in America’s social imaginary. I next propose the view that the value of reading Mexican philosophy resides precisely in its otherness to the very ideal of philosophy (of what philosophy is supposed to be), highlighting the work of the philosophical group Hyperion. I conclude by reconsidering the question regarding the value of reading Mexican philosophy for Latinx life, as well as the value of this reading for a future Latinx philosophy.

Department

Philosophy

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