Blooming in the ruins : how Mexican philosophy can guide us toward the good life

Blooming in the ruins How Mexican philosophy can guide us toward the good life

Carlos Alberto Sánchez, 1975-

Book - 2024

"This book introduces readers to central concepts and ideas in Mexican philosophy. Couched in stories and anecdotes from the author's life, the book offers these concepts and ideas as orientations, recommendations, or exhortation for navigating today's world. The structure and the style of the book aims at making these accessible to both specialists and non-specialist or anyone who may have had some experience with contemporary forms of marginalization, alienation, objectification, or any of the various forms of dread and accidentality familiar to modern life. This, the author thinks, is most of us. Narrowing down the scope of the tradition, the author draws from the history of Mexican philosophy in the 20th century, as it is... at this time that Mexican philosophy comes into its own. The book begins with two short introductions, one is an introduction philosophy in Mexico, the other to Mexican philosophy. Here, readers are introduced to Alfonso de la Veracruz, who offered the first philosophy course in the Americas in 1540 in the monastery of a small town in Michoacán, Mexico. From there, it presents four main themes from Mexican philosophy that recur in the philosophical literature. The remainder of the book serves as a "guide" for living a better, more fulfilling life. The main characters in what the author considers an uncontroversial retelling of Mexican philosophy are Antonio Caso, Samuel Ramos, Emilio Uranga, Leopoldo Zea, Jorge Portilla, Rosario Castellanos, Elsa Cecilia Frost, and, of course, persons in the author's own life"--

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Location Call Number   Status
2nd Floor New Shelf 199.72/Sanchez (NEW SHELF) Due Nov 15, 2024
Subjects
Philosophy, Mexican > History.
Published
New York, NY : Oxford University Press [2024]
Language
English
Main Author
Carlos Alberto Sánchez, 1975- (author)
Physical Description
xxvi, 300 pages ; 19 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9780197691007
  • Series Editor Foreword
  • Preface: How Can Mexican Philosophy Guide My Life?
  • Acknowledgments
  • Part I. Two Very Short Introductions to Mexican Philosophy
  • 1. "In the Beginning…": Philosophy in Mexico
  • 2. Mexican Philosophy in the Twentieth Century
  • Part II. Four Themes in Mexican Philosophy
  • 3. You Are Nepantla
  • 4. You Are Your Circumstance
  • 5. You Are Accidental
  • 6. You Are a Singularity
  • Part III. Mexican Philosophy as a Guide to Life
  • 7. Listening as a Form of Excavation
  • 8. Be Charitable
  • 9. Be Late to Parties
  • 10. Don't Fear Ghosts… or Death
  • 11. Strive for Originality
  • 12. There Is Hope in Zozobra
  • 13. Engage in a Bit of Relajo
  • 14. Are You an Apretado or Apretada?
  • 15. Practice Irony, But Be Socratic about It
  • 16. Set Yourself Apart
  • 17. The Way of Dignified Cynicism
  • 18. Don't Be a Troll
  • 19. Tell Your Own Story
  • 20. Love without Violence
  • 21. Don't Be Too Judgy
  • 22. Be Like the Rabbit
  • 23. It's Okay to Be Choosy about Your Inheritance
  • 24. Love What You Do
  • 25. You Really Don't Have to Join a Cult
  • Part IV. Dichos
  • 26. My Abuelo's Favorite Dicho
  • 27. My Abuela's Favorite Dicho
  • Part V. More on Mexican Philosophy
  • 28. Blooming in the Ruins: Mexican Philosophy as Your Guide to Life
  • Notes
  • Bibliography and Further Reading
  • Index
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Mexico's philosophical tradition looks outside the "colonial picture of things" to speak to "the margins" and "the accidentality of our lives," according to this vibrant study. Sánchez (Mexican Philosophy for the 21st Century), a professor of philosophy at San José State University, outlines a tradition that came into its own during the 1910--1917 Mexican Revolution as thinkers interrogated "what it means to be Mexican" after nearly 400 years of the country's identity being shaped by oppressive colonial governments. Drilling down to individual concepts, Sánchez describes how nepantla, or the sense of being trapped between home and an "alien" world, which was first described in 16th-century Mexico, is perennially relevant for Mexicans, who occupy a space "in the middle of" cultural influences and histories. Elsewhere, he delves into relajo, which was characterized by 20th-century thinker Jorge Portilla as a simultaneously "disruptive, distracting, and inviting" action that can "break us out of our routines." Throughout, Sánchez shows how Mexican philosophy inverts traditional assumptions and hierarchies, revealing that "seriousness can be oppressive, and that rituals and traditions are artificial constructs," and bolsters his analyses through historical context and resonant personal anecdotes (after his family moved to the U.S., the author's mother treated his fever with folk remedies before driving him to the hospital--"She still had a foot in the old ways while trying to find her footing in the new"). This captivates. (Sept.)

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