Latin-American Philosophy
Philosophy in Latin America may be divided into three periods.
(1) The scholastic period begins with the Recognitio summularum of Alonso de la Veracruz (1554) and continues to the dawn of the nineteenth century. According to Ueberweg, the influence of Duns Scotus during this period was greater than that of Thomas Aquinas.
(2) The predominantly naturalistic and positivistic period coincides roughly with the nineteenth century. The wars of independence were accompanied by revolt from scholasticism. In the early part of the century, liberal eclectics like Cousin and P. Janet were popular in South America, but French eighteenth century materialism exerted an increasing influence. Later, the thought of Auguste Comte and of Herbert Spencer came to be dominant especially in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. Even an idealistically inclined social and educational philosopher like Eugenio Maria de Hostos (1839-1903), although rejecting naturalistic ethics, maintains a positivistic attitude toward metaphysics.
(3) The predominantly idealistic period of the twentieth century was initiated by the work of the Argentine Alejandro Korn (1860-1936), who introduced modern German philosophy to his fellow-countrymen. Francisco Romero, also an Argentine, has brought about the translation of many European philosophical classics into Spanish. Leibniz, Kant, Hegel, and the more recent neo-Kantians and phenomcnologists have exerted wide influence in Latin America. North American personalism has also attracted attention. In Mexico, Jose Vasconcelos and Pedro Gringoire reflect in their own syntheses the main streams of idealistic metaphysics, ethics, esthetics. Puerto Rico, with its recent publication of the writings of Hostes, is also a center of philosophic activity. There are signs of growing philosophical independence throughout Latin America. — J.F., E.S.B.