Abstract

In this paper, I bring into dialogue a movement in Latin American social and political philosophy – which I have named Latin American and Latine Liberatory Philosophy – and a Western, or more precisely global North, philosophical movement sometimes called Ordinary Language Philosophy. By ‘Latin American and Latine Liberatory Philosophy’, I refer to a movement, adumbrated at the dawn of the 19th century and developed during the 20th century, whose guiding theme is the political, social, and cultural liberation of Latin America (and global South peoples more generally). By ‘Ordinary Language Philosophy’, on the other hand, I refer to a movement, adumbrated at Oxford at the turn of the 20th century and developed by J.L. Austin and his epigones after the Second World War, whose guiding theme is the idea that ordinary speech ought to be the starting point of philosophy. After examining some main characteristics of each of these movements, I will argue that, for all their differences, they share an important similarity: namely, both of them advocate for, and apply, a socio-historically situated philosophical method. I will conclude by gesturing at the ways in which these movements can supplement each other.