The Philosophies of America Reader - by Kim Díaz & Mathew A Foust (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Bringing together an unparalleled selection of original and translated readings from different eras and various traditions, this reader includes texts from well-known North American philosophers alongside writings by Native, Latin, African, Mexican, and Asian Americans, revealing the interweaving tapestry of ideas endemic to the Americas. Through its pluralistic approach, it promotes intercultural dialogue and understanding. Primary texts are thematically arranged around major areas of philosophical enquiry including selfhood, knowledge, learning, and ethics, with each part featuring introductory essays outlining the trajectories of each section and suggestions for further primary and secondary readings"--

Book Synopsis

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:

- Writings by traditionally underrepresented groups
- Primary texts thematically arranged around major areas of philosophical enquiry including selfhood, knowledge, learning, and ethics
- Introductory essays outlining the trajectories of each section
- 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.

Review Quotes

"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." --José-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

About the Author

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.