The Philosophies of America Reader brings together an unparalleled selection of original and translated readings spanning several eras and American traditions. Addressing perennial questions of philosophy and new questions arising in a variety of cultural contexts, texts from Classical American, Native American, Latin American, African American, Asian American, Mexican, Caribbean, and South American philosophers reveal the interweaving tapestry of ideas characteristic of America.
With its distinctively pluralistic approach, this reader promotes intercultural dialogue and understanding, highlighting points of convergence and divergence across American philosophical traditions. It features:
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Writings by traditionally underrepresented groups
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Primary texts thematically arranged around major areas of philosophical enquiry including selfhood, knowledge, learning, and ethics
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Introductory essays outlining the trajectories of each section
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Suggestions for further primary and secondary readings, guiding readers in further study
As the only available reader in American philosophy of such wide ranging content, this is an essential resource for those interested in intellectual history, thought and culture, and philosophical theories of America.
Acknowledgements Introduction Note to the Teacher Note to the Student Part I: Selfhood and Identity Introduction 1. José Martí, “Our America” 2. Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Self-Reliance” 3. José Vasconcelos, “The Cosmic Race” 4. George Herbert Mead, “The ‘I’ and the ‘Me’” 5. Marcus Garvey, Speech in Nova Scotia 6. Gloria Anzaldúa, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” 7. V.F. Cordova, “What Is It to Be Human in a Native American World View?” 8. V.F. Cordova, “Credo: This I Believe” 9. Gary Okihiro, “Is Yellow Black or White?” Further Reading Part II: Knowing and Learning Introduction 10. Selection from the Popol Vuh 11. Juana Inés de la Cruz, “The Reply to Sor Philothea” 12. Charles S. Peirce, “The Fixation of Belief” 13. Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, On Education 14. Manuel González Prada, “Our Indians” 15. Booker T. Washington, “Building a School Around a Problem” 16. Hubert Harrison, “Negro Culture and the Negro College,” “English as She is Spoke,” and “Education Out of School” 17. John Dewey, “Education as Growth” 18. Anisio S. Teixeira, “Democracy and its Creative Achievement in Education: New Frontiers for International Cooperation” 19. William R. Jones, “The Legitimacy and Necessity of Black Philosophy” 20. Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui, “Ch’ixinakax utxiwa: A Reflection on the Practices and Discourses of Decolonization” Further Reading Part III: Aesthetics and Spirituality Introduction 21. William James, “The Will to Believe” 22. Mary Whiton Calkins, “The Nature of Prayer” 23. W.E.B. Du Bois, “Criteria of Negro Art” 24. Alain Locke, “Art or Propaganda” 25. Black Elk, “The Great Vision” 26. Risieri Frondizi, “Basic Problems in Axiology” 27. Óscar Romero, “The Last Sermon” 28. Vine Deloria, Jr., “Sacred Places and Moral Responsibility” 29. Angela Y. Davis, “I Used to Be Your Sweet Mama: Ideology, Sexuality, and Domesticity” 30. John J. McDermott, “Why Bother: Is Life Worth Living? Experience as Pedagogical” Further Reading Part IV: Ethics and Community Introduction 31. Benjamin Franklin, “Plan for Attaining Moral Perfection” 32. Margaret Fuller, “Prevalent Idea that Charity is Too Great a Luxury to be Given to the Poor” 33. Josiah Royce, “Provincialism” 34. Audre Lorde, “Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference” 35. César Chávez, Address to the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco, November 9, 1984 36. David H. Kim, “Orientalism and America Enlarged” 37. Dale Turner, “Oral Traditions and the Politics of (Mis)recognition” 38. Luis Villoro, “The Triple Confusion of Utopia” 39. Gregory F. Pappas, “The American Challenge: The Tension Between the Values of the Anglo and the Hispanic World” Further Reading Part V: Violence and Peace Introduction 40. Pope Alexander VI, Inter Caetera 41. Elihu Coleman, “A Testimony Against That Anti-Christian Practice of Making Slaves of Men” 42. William Whipper, “The Slavery of Intemperance” 43. Frederick Douglass, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” 44. Henry David Thoreau, “Slavery in Massachusetts” 45. Young Joseph, “An Indian’s View of Indian Affairs” 46. Jane Addams, “Respect for Law” 47. Ida B. Wells-Barnett, “Lynching and the Excuse for It” 48. José Carlos Mariátegui, “The Problem of the Indian” 49. Aimé Césaire, “Discourse on Colonialism” 50. Robert F. Williams, Speech from Peking Review 51. Mari J. Matsuda, “Asian Americans and the Peace Imperative” Further Reading Index
Kim Díaz is a Philosophy Instructor at El Paso Community College, USA and a Philosophy & Mindfulness Instructor with the Philosophic Systems Institute. Mathew A. Foust is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Central Connecticut State University, USA.
Reviews for The Philosophies of America Reader: From the Popol Vuh to the Present
With selections by marginalized thinkers, this Reader rejects the myth that American philosophy is fundamentally male, white, and limited to the United States. It offers a window to the contexts, cultures, and conflicts that shaped Native America, African American, Latin American, and Asian American philosophies, and provides fresh insight into perennial problems in ethics, metaphysics, and epistemology by expanding the philosophical canon. Required reading. * Derrick Darby, Henry Rutgers Professor of Philosophy, Rutgers University, USA * This exciting collection does some very important philosophical work: it opens the epistemological lens by which we can see better the diversity of experience that underlies life in the Americas. Diaz and Foust provide us the tools to construct a much more honest philosophical canon, one with a hemispheric awareness of the importance of multicultural and multiracial perspectives. By showing us the wide range of North and Latin American voices, we are able to put these resources in dialogue with one another and find new ways of thinking for a more humane future. * Jose-Antonio Orosco, Professor of Philosophy, Oregon State University, USA * The year is 2021 and what you have here is perhaps the first and only anthology of American philosophy. * Robert Eli Sanchez, Jr., Associate Professor of Philosophy, Occidental College, USA * I can see no reason why this text could not become the new standard for our classes on American Philosophy. Additionally, I am not currently aware of any work on the market which serves the same unique role of The Philosophies of America Reader. I would strongly encourage any interested instructor to consider this text for their courses. * Teaching Philosophy *
