Utopia in the Context of the Debate on Latin American Philosophical Identity

The unresolved discourse on the specificity of Latin American philosophy - and even on the very possibility of its existence - highlights the need for its reconsideration and reevaluation. Introducing the additional parameter in the form of the philosophy of utopia adds urgency to the issue. In Latin American studies (A. Roig, F. Hinkelammert, H. Cerutti, etc.), utopia is examined in various meanings and contexts, while the discourse on the uniqueness of Latin American philosophy oscillates between the poles of total denial and categorical affirmation. The aim of this study is to explore the concept of “utopia” within the framework of the ongoing debate regarding the identity of Latin American philosophy on the continent, to determine the place of utopia within the system of philosophical knowledge, and to substantiate its special, practically transformative role as interpreted by a number of scholars. In a brief historical overview, the author focuses on the problem of the origins of Latin American philosophy (L. Zea), the initial formulation of the question of its uniqueness (J.B. Alberdi), the debate between A. Salazar Bondy and L. Zea in the late 1960s, and its implications for contemporary research. The author associates the integration of utopia into philosophical discourse with socio-political events in the Latin American continent and the world at large, the influence of Ernst Bloch’s ideas and left-wing ideologues, the perception of Latin America as a “land of utopias,” as well as the critique of Eurocentrism and the efforts of theorists of so-called “instrumental philosophy” to transcend academic philosophizing and enter the realm of politics. Today, utopia is assigned the role of a method of critical thinking and mental experimentation (Misseri), a “regulating force of the idea” (Roig), an alluring and never fully attainable horizon (Hinkelammert, Cerutti), and a driver of historical progress (Cerutti). The utopian dimension of Latin American culture, propelled by the contradiction between ideal and reality, allows - according to some scholars - for a reinterpretation of historical progress from an ethical standpoint as a “will to perfection.”