Since the last century, the Philosophy of Liberation, especially in the work of Enrique Dussel, has become the most original and influential body of thought in the Latin American region, with the greatest projection worldwide. Likewise, since the mid-1990s, decolonial theory has become not only its heir but a current that has developed and expanded a fundamental categorical basis and critical thought for thinking through the “long-standing colonial legacies,” as well as processes of decolonization.
Decolonial thought is one of “the most relevant manifestations of critical theory in the last quarter century in Latin America. Its critique of Eurocentrism, capitalism, modernity, racism, patriarchy, intellectual and cultural colonialism, dependency, epistemic violence, progress, development, and the colonial legacies suffered on this continent since the sixteenth century,” as Damian Pachón states. For this reason, this symposium calls on scholars of Latin American liberation philosophy and decolonial theory to reflect on the stakes, relevance and main theoretical debates within these two currents of critical and liberating thought. The objective is to map the current state of their discussions and the main contributions they offer amid the current civilizational crisis.
