What to do with Western Universalisms? Some Remarks concerning the “Decolonial Turn”

Abstract

Some academic circles in Latin America support the idea that the main purpose   of a “decolonial theory” is to denounce eurocentrism. Such circles also argue that “decolonization” of social sciences, art, and philosophy consists in the recovery of the ancient knowledge of indigenous and afro-descendant communities. Finally, they state that the purpose of a critical theory “pursued in Latin America” would consist in denying any aspiration for universality. In this paper, I would like to present some arguments that question such positions. First, I will ask if it is possible to consider cultural identities within particularism. Then, I will address the issue of eurocentrism in order to clarify to what kind of phenomena this term might apply. Afterwards, I will address the issue of universalism by showing that emancipation politics cannot give up the gesture of the universalization of interests. In the end, I would like to express some thoughts concerning the idea of “transmodernism”, which was developed in Latin America by the Argentinian philosopher Enrique Dussel.