Contributions to latin-American philosophy
pp. 243-257
in: Mario Alai, Marco Buzzoni, Gino Tarozzi (eds), Science between truth and ethical responsibility, Berlin, Springer, 2015Abstract
Philosophy is universal and there is apparently no sense in dividing it geographically. Yet this happens very often and not just for expository reasons. Agazzi has defended the thesis that there is no unique model for philosophy (i.e. that of the Western tradition), since philosophy is in a deep sense the 'self-consciousness of cultures' and for this reason it reflects the deepest intellectual and spiritual grounds of a given culture. This applies in particular also to Latin America, where several intellectuals have tried to make explicit the specific features of its philosophy. Agazzi has had a tradition of personal relations of collaboration and friendship with them, and has promoted (owing to his position in international philosophical institutions) several opportunities of mutual encounter and cooperation. His action was also decisive in promoting Spanish as an official language of the World Congresses of Philosophy, and he has also succeeded in having many Latin-American philosophers elected as members of the Steering Committee of the International Federation of the Philosophical Societies (FISP).