Traducción: Sartre y Fanon sobre la mala fe encarnada
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An approach to the exercise of the Liberation-Principle of Dusselian ethics from propositional logic
This paper analyzes Enrique Dussel's ethics of liberation from a propositional logic perspective, evaluating the validity of its ethical-practical framework as a basis for the praxis of his philosophy of liberation. Initially, an outline of the fundamental principles and criteria that compose this ethics is provided. Subsequently, the framework is subjected to a basic logical review, revealing significant inconsistencies that could compromise its validity. Among the main observations, it is highlighted that dividing the framework into two strands is unnecessary and counterproductive, as it could be structured as a single practical and logically coherent framework. Furthermore, a deeper critique is posed regarding the assumption of transforming specific aspects of capitalism to reduce its victimizing effects, since this system, by its very nature, generates victims. It is concluded that total structural transformation is a prerequisite for any ethical process of liberation. Only after establishing a new system could the necessary adjustments be addressed to mitigate the new forms of oppression that may eventually emerge. Thus, it is argued that, from a logical perspective, revolution must be the unavoidable starting point of Dussel's framework.
Walter Benjamin and messianic materialism: dialogue based on the readings of Bolívar Echeverría and Enrique Dussel
This article analyzes the work of Walter Benjamin, focusing on his "Theses on the Philosophy of History" and his critique of progress as a central axis of capitalist and socialist modernity. Drawing on the reflections of Bolívar Echeverría and Enrique Dussel, the text argues, from a reading that intertwines Benjamin's Jewish condition and his connection with European culture, that the vision of progress is a historical construction that hides the underlying barbarity in power structures, both in capitalism and in real socialism. When the author proposes his interpretation of history "against the grain," he challenges the linear and triumphalist conception of progress, proposing a historical materialism based on the memory of the oppressed and the redemption of the victims of the past. The work also highlights how Benjamin's critique of modernity, far from being an abstract reflection, has a practical and revolutionary dimension, linking his ideas with Latin American liberation philosophies and the need for a new critical look at history. In this sense, the article argues that theology, in Benjamin's thought, does not propose a doctrine, nor a treatise on God, but rather a critical tool that allows for the interruption of the hegemonic narrative of progress and the reconfiguration of social struggles from a radically new perspective, centered on resistance and the historical transformation of the oppressed.
The “fundamental intuition” in the attribution of meaningto the consciousness of American civilization within the thought of Antenor Orrego
The present article aims to analyze the role of the "fundamental intuition" in attributing meaning to the consciousness of American civilization within the thought of Antenor Orrego in the first half of the 20th century. We identify Antenor Orrego as a philosopher who exemplified an aesthetic philosophy of spiritualist character, while embracing a materialist political realization. To this end, the article examines the early 20th-century Peruvian intellectual context from which Orrego develops a philosophical framework centered on the cultural and political identity of Latin America, and through which he proposes an ontology that articulates social emancipation with a profound spiritual dimension. Although some specialized literature portrays Orrego's philosophy as irrationalist, anti-scientific, identitarian, and mystical, this article seeks to offer a more nuanced understanding of his work by exploring two key concepts that challenge this depiction: depth and expression. It is argued that Orrego's fundamental intuition transcends irrationalist identitarianism, proposing instead a logic of multiple meanings, where the spiritual and the material are integrated into a political praxis that connects the aesthetic with the socio-historical. The article advocates for a re-reading of Orrego as a philosopher of expression and Latin American becoming.
City and good living: an approach from the political ontology of good urban living
From the horizon of the philosophy of good living, this article explores the possibilities that this would have in the understanding of urban processes for Abya Yala, considering the tensional elements between a city marked by the conflictive coexistence between the processes of gentrification and urban extractivism with the new social movements that have emerged in the last decades, the same that demand the right to a dignified life in Latin American cities. Here the political ontologies of relational character are positioned as possibilities to give content to a new type of inhabiting, of being-feeling in the city, from the sense given by the communal. In this sense, in this article we have proposed to establish a theoretical dialogue with the good living from the place where we situate our thinking, the city, considering the profound changes that have taken place in the last decades. To this end, we have reviewed the fundamental principles of the philosophy of good living, while we approached an early review of the new social movements that uphold these principles and their embodiment in the plurinational states that have emerged in the region.
Review: “Political Ontology from Latin America”
Phenomenology as a liberating method in intercultural philosophy from and for Latin America
The article explores how phenomenology, particularly in the context of Latin America, can become a liberating tool by questioning colonial structures of thought and creating an intercultural dialogue that respects diverse worldviews. Latin America has historically been a site of oppression and marginalization, from colonialism to neoliberalism, and this legacy of subjugation has fueled a philosophy aimed not only at understanding but also at transforming this reality. Phenomenology, with its focus on lived experience and Husserl's phenomenological reduction (epoché), enables questioning Eurocentric frameworks and recovering marginalized forms of knowledge and life. From this perspective, the “lifeworld” (Lebenswelt) is not singular but plural, adapting to the experiences and contexts of each culture. Authors such as Raúl Fornet-Betancourt and Enrique Dussel propose a phenomenology that confronts cultural colonialism and promotes an ethical and political recognition of the oppressed “Other” (the indigenous person, the peasant, the marginalized woman) allowing for a dialogue where these peoples are neither assimilated nor instrumentalized. The intercultural philosophy emerging here does not seek a homogeneous universality but rather a plurality that preserves cultural identities and acknowledges their contributions. Phenomenology thus enables the construction of "conviviality" or harmonious coexistence in a "pluriverse," where all worldviews and ways of life have a place. This approach not only challenges modernity and Eurocentrism but also proposes the need to build social and political relationships that go beyond individual interests, promoting an ethic of coexistence and complementarity. In sum, the proposed intercultural philosophy seeks to decolonize thought and position Latin America within a space of dialogue and resistance to the dominant world-system
The ontological concept of justice and justice as a foundation for the construction of a political philosophy and law for Latin America
The ontological conception of justice has evolved significantly from ancient Western thought to contemporary ideas in Latin America, especially in the context of Abya-Yala. In ancient Greece, thinkers like Heraclitus and Parmenides proposed justice as a dynamic equilibrium and a set of universal principles, respectively. This duality served as a foundation for reflecting on social justice in the region. During the modern era, philosophers such as John Locke and Immanuel Kant redefined justice in terms of individual rights and morality. Kant, with his categorical imperative, and Rousseau, with his emphasis on the general will, introduced visions that highlighted the importance of citizen participation. This shift towards a social construction of justice was consolidated by thinkers like Hegel, who saw justice as a dialectical process. In Latin America, justice has been reinterpreted by thinkers like Enrique Dussel and Rodolfo Kusch, who critique Western notions and advocate for an ethics of "Buen Vivir" (Good Living). Dussel proposes a justice that emerges from the recognition of historically silenced voices, while Kusch emphasizes the importance of cultural and community particularities. This ontological transformation challenges Eurocentrism, promoting an approach that respects indigenous worldviews. The inclusion of the Abya-Yala worldview in the 2009 Political Constitution of Bolivia is a milestone in this process, recognizing the self-determination of indigenous peoples and the Mother Earth as an entity with rights. This approach integrates an ecological and cultural perspective, laying the foundations for a philosophy of law that prioritizes inclusive justice.
The landscape and indigenous and popular thought
The following article presents the different elements of indigenous and popular thought raised by Rodolfo Kusch from the work bearing the same name, with the purpose of establishing a relationship between the main aspects of such thought with what the Argentine philosopher defines as landscape. The structure of the chapter begins with a first section where, from Kusch's perspective, the central axes of indigenous and popular thought are approached from scenarios such as knowledge, ritual, the relationship of opposites, the thus and the seminality. In a second moment, it is presented the way in which the action of indigenous and popular thought is glimpsed towards the construction of the American being through the landscape.
The article explores, from an onto-poetic perspective the deep connection between the human being and the landscape, arguing that both are interdependent and influence each other. From a sentimentalized perspective it explores how landscape is not only a physical context in which we live, but also an integral part of our existence and spirituality. Through poetic narrative we explore diverse cultural traditions, such as the Quechua, and examine how landscape has been perceived and valued throughout history. At the same time, the article addresses the transformation of the landscape and its impact on humanity, as well as the responsibility of human beings in its conservation and restoration. It emphasizes the need for an integral understanding of landscape that includes ecological, spiritual and cultural aspects. In addition, a critical reflection on the exploitation of the environment and the importance of adopting an attitude of care and respect towards nature is proposed.
El presente número de la Revista Colombiana de Filosofía “Sin fundamento”, llega a su edición números 25, con motivo de una grata recordación académica, como es el vigésimo primer aniversario de la Facultad de Filosofía. Llegar a esta mayoría de edad, como nos lo recuerda el buen Kant, ha sido un esfuerzo cooperativo entre el equipo de trabajo que la conforma, así como el apoyo incondicional de los estamentos de la universidad que han respaldado las iniciativas que han hecho posible este proyecto académico.
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Spinoza, pensador de la libertad burguesa
Heraldo de la libertad de religión y de culto, ferviente defensor de la libertad de opinión, de expresión, de imprenta y de educación (Spinoza, 1951: vol. 1, 259), decidido defensor de la libertad de establecimiento y de comercio, así como defensor del armamento general del pueblo; sin duda Spinoza fue el precursor del liberalismo moderno en prácticamente todos los ámbitos de la vida social. De él se ha dicho incluso que fue el primer pensador político moderno que se declaró demócrata (Feuer, 1958: 101),, y que expresó abiertamente su preferencia por la forma de Estado democrático. Sin embargo, sus obras políticas, el Tractatus Theologico-Politicus y el Tractatus Politicus, parecen estar marcadas por una profunda contradicción. Numerosos autores tratan estas obras como un compromiso entre, por una parte, la proclamación de la soberanía suprema, casi ilimitada, de un Estado absoluto, similar a la del Leviatán de Hobbes, y, por otra, la insistencia en los derechos individuales tal como los desarrollarían más tarde los pensadores revolucionarios franceses de la segunda mitad del siglo XVIII como Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Spinoza, 1951). Estos autores subrayan que Spinoza hizo hincapié en el deber de obedecer a toda autoridad estatal. Algunos llegan incluso a considerarle un opositor declarado del pensamiento subversivo, o incluso un pensador y político antirrevolucionario
Marxismo - Hay que soñar: la anticipación y la esperanza como categorías del Materialismo Histórico
Desde el punto de vista marxista, el trabajo y la capacidad de comunicación avanzada son los dos aspectos más importantes del ser humano como ser social. El trabajo social es imposible sin una comunicación humana avanzada, interpersonal, que incluya la capacidad de utilizar herramientas lingüísticas estructuradas, de formar conceptos y de desarrollar la conciencia. Como materialistas, sabemos que la capacidad de comunicarnos de forma más que rudimentaria –la que también tienen los animales– se basa en la necesidad de la producción social para ganarse la vida. La conexión inextricable entre el trabajo y la comunicación lleva, entre otras cosas, a que “simplemente no podemos eludir el hecho de que todo lo que hace actuar a los hombres debe encontrar su camino a través de sus cerebros, incluso comer y beber, que comienza como consecuencia de la sensación de hambre o sed transmitida por el cerebro, y termina como resultado de la sensación de saciedad igualmente transmitida por el cerebro.
Des-modernizar la revolución para reinventar la utopía
El texto que a continuación se presenta a manera de artículo, corresponde al sub-capítulo 3.2, de un trabajo más amplio llamado “¿Qué sujeto, para qué revolución? Aproximaciones en torno al sujeto en resistencias para las revoluciones no-modernas”, en el cual se aborda la crisis de la subjetividad revolucionaria moderna, en perspectiva de proponer una redefinición estratégica en torno al poder político. En ese sentido, el texto elabora una crítica desde el pensamiento décolonial, ante la concepción moderna de poder político, y plantea la idea de desmodernizar el concepto de revolución para hacer aún posible la utopía.
Tres críticas y una propuesta sobre derechos humanos: racionalidad, fundamentalismo humanitario, desarrollismo e interculturalidad
El presente artículo pretende elaborar tres críticas a los derechos humanos como cuerpo conceptual y prescriptivo, visible a través de su constitucionalización, así como en diversos tratados e instancias de multilateralidad internacional. También presenta una propuesta al final que recoja lo expuesto antes y plantee algunos caminos de reflexión y acción. En ese mismo orden estará estructurado en cuatro acápites. Los derechos humanos tienen como eje geopolítico la instauración de las Naciones Unidas como referente para su declaración y posterior adopción en los marcos normativos de los países suscritos. Son tres críticas que recogen temáticas revisadas en las clases y lecturas de la especialización, que se consideran son ilustrativas de los límites y efectos éticos, políticos y epistemológicos de los derechos humanos.
The Faculty of Philosophy and Human Sciences of the Universidad Libre Sede-Bogotá is proud to present the special dossier of our magazine, which seeks to exhibit and problematize contemporary critical thought in light of a long-standing critical tradition such as Marxism.
Reseña: “COVID-19: Un análisis filosófico e interdisciplinar”
Ideology, a central concept in the social sciences introduced by Marx, links thought to social activity. Although it was initially consolidated in Marxism, it was questioned by the Frankfurt School in the 1930s due to the distance between expectations of emancipation and reality. Slavoj Žižek, in “The Sublime Object of Ideology,” argues for the relevance of the concept today, suggesting a reinterpretation through Lacanian psychoanalysis. He proposes that ideology is not just a “false consciousness,” but an illusion that is structurally part of reality. Žižek analyzes commodity fetishism, where social relations become relations between things, and points out that, in capitalism, this fetishism shifts to objects. In contrast, Peter Sloterdijk’s critique argues that we live in a “post-ideological” era, where ideology becomes cynical. Accepting this, Žižek argues that ideology can be understood as an illusion that guides our practices, supported by beliefs that are objectively imposed. This reconceptualization poses new challenges for social emancipation, suggesting that our beliefs are fundamental to our knowledge and social action.
1968 is considered a remarkable year, mainly because of the struggles of students and workers and the counter-revolutionary movement that followed them. Marcuse is largely remembered for his role in 1960s and 1970s. Although he was considered the Guru of the New Left, his role was misunderstood, being criticized both by the conservative right and the "orthodox" left. However, since the end of 1990s, with the publication of his Collected Papers, Marcuse’s theory has been updated, being subject of many studies. The aim of this communication is to show that the theory of Marcuse is still valid, arguing that he had seen the "tip of the Iceberg" we are facing today. Despite the conjunctural differences, it is possible to say that the trends prevalent today were already present or in gestation in that period. Indeed, in his 33 Theses on the situation post Second World War, published posthumously, Marcuse shows his astuteness realizing the future division of the world in the Cold War. He was not wrong arguing the one-dimensional character of contemporary society, judging the competition between Capitalism and Socialism would lead to equivalence between them, in favor of the first. The predominant strain in 1968 is the same that remains concealed today: the tension between freedom and social containment. The desire for a new way of life, a new culture and morality, face the increasingly growing counter-revolutionary contention that looks for maintaining live the values of exploitation by the capital. The process of counter-revolution opened in the end of the 1960s, which culminated in 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall and in 1991 with the end of the Soviet Union, it was not over, only increased in 2001 with the terrorist attacks on World Trade Center and the beginning of terrorist war of G. W. Bush.
Jean-Paul Sartre’s Revolutionary Marxism
The essay I present here addresses some of Jean-Paul Sartre’s most relevant considerations related to Marxist thought. For the French author, this current of thought is presented as a philosophy of revolution that aims to recover the central aspects of subjectivity linked to the development of human beings, in contrast to the schematism of various types that have sought to exhaust life in some. incorrect materialistic aspects. What we are trying to do here is to point out that Sartre’s philosophy defends a position open to human possibilities in terms of the situation of each being. The articulation between his existentialist motivations and Marxism is the starting point for overcoming the problem.
Materialist dialectics and dialectical materialism: towards a materialist conception of history
It is not the consciousness that determines life, but the life that determines consciousness; this is one of the key mottos with one can start for a materialist conception of history. The starting point is the material production of immediate life and to conceive the form of exchange of this mode of production, engendered by it in the distinct phases of society and from this, the process of real life, to reach ideology and the echoes of that process. Marx’s conception of society is where philosophy of the twentieth century has been most nurtured. Conceptions such as materialism and dialectics have played a key role in the language of philosophy. For this reason, the thread of this writing is the exposition of dialectical materialism and its subsequent criticisms. This paper begins with the exposition of the conception of dialectical materialism as formulated by Stalin, based on his interpretation of Engels’ ideas. Following this, a critique of this formulation is presented, and then a reinterpretation of dialectical materialism is offered through the critical reflections of authors such as Sartre, Schmidt, and Lukács. And so, finally, conclude with an idea of what is a true conception of the materialism of history.
The interpretation of the Marxist notion of “natural form” in Echeverría: meanings, definition, and critical sense
The article explains the meaning of the notion of “natural form” of use values, formulated by Marx, recovered especially by the Ecuadorian philosopher Bolívar Echeverría. The purpose of the text is to analyze Echeverría’s reinterpretation of the notion of “natural form” of the work process as a structural behavior of human existence, through an analysis of the meanings of the term, its definition and characterization of its main elements. The text is divided into six sections, each of which has the following topics: 1) the description of the texts by Marx and Echeverría on which we base ourselves; 2) the relevance of the notion of “natural form” in Marx’s works; 3) we try a phenomenological approach to the research that Marx carried out from critical materialism to reveal the protosocial substratum that underlies the “value form”; 4) we address the ambiguity of the term “natural” in our topic; 5) we explain the transnatural characteristic of human existence and the foundation of the social fact; 6) we make nine clarifications that are relevant to Echeverrian definition of the “natural form” of the work process; and 7) in the last section we make some critical notes whose objective is to avoid a substantialization of the notion of “natural form”, in addition to distinguishing between the critical function of this notion with respect to the possible readings that associate it with a form in itself of resistance.
La Facultad de Filosofía y Ciencias Humanas de la Universidad Libre Sede-Bogotá se enorgullece en presentar el dossier especial de nuestra revista, que busca exhibir y problematizar el pensamiento crítico contemporáneo a la luz de una tradición crítica y de larga data como es el Marxismo.
Marxian critique to the standard and dominant view of technology in the economics sciences
One of the main contributions from Marx and Engels to economic thought lies in their critique of classical political economy, its method, premises and theoretical development. But not only in their particular critique of what at that time prevailed as the dominant view of economic thought, but also in the very structure of the critique and its logical foundations, which can not only be applied to particular variables of the framework of classical political economy and the views derived from it but can also be extended to other theoretical frameworks. In this order of ideas this article aims to present and critically analyze the definitions of technology that have been used and constructed by the schools of economic thought that have been instituted as the dominant visions, for which the theoretical vision of Marx and Engels, that is, their conception of capitalist society as a whole, capital and social purpose, will be taken as a frame of reference. Among the outstanding results are: a synthesis of the conceptions and definitions of technology of the dominant currents, the limits and scope of these visions with respect to technology and technological development, and the position of the need to advance in the configuration of a critical, alternative and Marxian vision of technology.
Uses and contexts of the concept of ideology in Karl Marx’s political thought
The paper is concerned the concept of ideology in Karl Marx. This concept is historically identified with the formulation of false consciousness. In this paper we will show that, in addition, the concept of ideology in Marx has several functions that are not reduced to a denunciation of deceit and social alienation. Faced with a detailed study of several passages of his work can be inferred that the use of the concept of ideology is not confined to the false consciousness. The question is open, then on the unitary conception of the concept of ideology or if there are several meanings of the term and what role within the Marxian theory.
From the inelectubale to the horrific: or how suffering in Marx seeks its emancipation
This paper addresses the ideas of the horrific and suffering in Marx. By drawing on the metaphor of the vampire, I suggest that what happens under capitalism to human beings involves an understanding of the political economy of the dead. In order to conceptualize the feeling of suffering, I draw a comparison between Capital and the Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844. Here my suggested approach is that the German expression of Selbstgefühl der Arbeiter cannot be translated as class consciousness, such a thing turns the sensibility of the historical subject into something impracticable. Overall, I argue that literature in Marx is not a mere supplementary ornament, but rather is essential to the critique.
Songs of Eros: The Blues of Bessie Smith
The aim of this article is to demonstrate how Bessie Smith's Classic Blues exemplifies the potential for change through the aesthetic dimension. We will reference the works Eros and Civilization: A Philosophical Inquiry into Freud, An Essay on Liberation, and The Aesthetic Dimension: Toward a Critique of Marxist Aesthetics by Herbert Marcuse to illustrate how music possesses a persuasive power over the minds, souls, and bodies of listeners. Additionally, we will utilize Blues Legacies and Black Feminism: Gertrude “Ma” Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday by Angela Davis, which presents the Blues as a means for expressing and transmitting the ideas and thoughts of Black women, capable of provoking changes in African American consciousness. Bessie Smith, one of the best-known singers of Classic Blues, is featured in this article. The singer preserved an African heritage in her songs that was presented to African Americans, serving as an incentive for alternative models of behavior and attitudes towards the established norms.
Culture and political transformation in Jesús Martín-Barbero and Fredric Jameson
This paper explores the approaches regarding culture and political transformation in the works of Jesús Martín-Barbero and Fredric Jameson. Both authors, from different contexts and theoretical perspectives, offer analytical frameworks to understand the dynamics of domination and social struggles in the context of late modernity. In this regard, the present article examines their positions on the relationship between the social dynamics of the local and the global, the role of political subjects in late capitalism, and the function of culture in the processes of hegemony and counter-hegemony. Particularly, it analyzes how Martín-Barbero, from a Latin American perspective, emphasizes the importance of local cultural struggles and the construction of popular identities, while Jameson, from a more global perspective influenced by his analysis situated in the United States, examines the dynamics of late capitalism and its impact on culture. Special attention is given to how both authors approach the Marxist conception of totality and the possibilities for transformation that each stance allows to envision. This analysis seeks to contribute to the philosophical and sociological debate on the relationship between culture and politics, offering a comparative reading that identifies both the points of convergence, and the tensions present between the two theorists.
Football, Art and Resistance: A dialogical reading of football as art and emancipation
This work focuses on analysing aesthetic-sporting phenomena from a political perspective. To do so, it uses approaches from Marxism and critical theory, in principle, to elucidate the relationship between sporting act and aesthetic fact so that, later, the micro-practices of sports can be analysed from the French critical thought of G. Deleuze as phenomena of resistance (cultural or not) of the sporting activity. The analysis presented here attempts to correlate a philosophical conceptual approach, a historical sociological account of sports practices and facts, as well as a journalistic collection of eventualities and characters that outline, from their mere daily practices, exercises of resistance to the alienation of capital represented both in sport and in the culture that passes through (their) bodies generating beauty and Thanatos.