~The emergence of Rene Descarte’s metaphysical theory ‘I think therefore I exist’ inaugurates a new form of Universalism in the West by a God-like claim to be the most epistemically advanced perspective. No other religious or philosophical doctrine makes these idolatrous Universalist claims. So who is the ‘I’ Descartes is referring to? Grosfoguel opines that there has to be an element of ambiguity within western epistemology in order to appear infallible, universal and objective, thus painting all other structures of knowledge as particular and therefore inferior. Modern Eurocentric sciences are founded on these epistemological assumptions. Enrique Dussel, a philosopher of liberation in Latin America, questions which geopolitical location, and which body this ‘I’ is speaking from. Grosfoguel interprets Descartes claim as arising from a mentality of 150 years of ‘I conquer therefore I exist.’ This omnipotent claim to knowledge is made possible as the Western system conquered the world and, in terms of epistemic privilege, put Western Imperial man at the centre. Thus, behind ‘I think therefore I exist’ lies ‘I exterminate therefore I exist.’ The evidence for this claim of extermination lies in five forms of genocides: 1. Indigenous people in America 2. African people 3. Muslims 4. Jews 5. Genocide of millions of women in 16thc accused of being witches within the Western European world. By placing himself in an epistemic privileged position, claiming to have a knowledge superior to the knowledge of everybody else, Western man created Idolatric Universalism. This is evident through the centuries; from the 16th century obligation to Christianise through to the 21st century obligation to conform to the Western supremacy of democracy, or face persecution. This is the rhetoric of modernity and genocide, internally rooted in Western epistemology. Any other realm of knowledge is diminished as particularistic.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 09:34:58 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015