Available in English for the first time, a masterwork by Enrique Dussel, one of the world's foremost philosophers, and a cornerstone of the philosophy of liberation, which he helped to found and develop.

Argentinean philosopher, theologian, and historian Enrique Dussel understands the present international order as divided into the "culture of the center" -- by which he means the ruling elite of Europe, North America, and Russia -- and "the peoples of the periphery" -- by which he means the populations of Latin America, Africa, and part of Asia, and the oppressed classes (including women and children) throughout the world. In 'Philosophy of Liberation,' he presents a profound analysis of the alienation of peripheral peoples resulting from the imperialism of the center for more than five centuries. Dussel's aim is to demonstrate that the center's historic cultural, military, and economic domination of poor countries is 'philosophically' founded on North Atlantic onthology. By expressing supposedly universal knowledge, European philosophies, argues Dussel, have served to equate the cultural standards, modes of behavior, and rationalistic orientation of the West with human nature and to condemn the unique characteristics of peripheral peoples as "nonbeing, nothing, chaos, irrationality." Hence, Western philosophies have historically legitimated and hidden the domination that oppressed cultures have suffered at the hands of the center. Dussel probes multinational corporations, the communications media, and the armies of the center with their counterparts among the Third World elite. The creation of a just world order in the future, according to Dussel, hinges on the liberation of the periphery, based on a philosophy that is able to "think the world" from the perspective of the poor and to reclaim the Third World's distinct cultural inheritance, which is imbedded in the popular cultures of the poor. Apart from the liberation of the periphery, there will be no future: "the center will feed itself on the sameness it has ingrained within itself. The death of the child, of the poor, will be its own death." This is a disquieting but stimulating book for scholars and advanced students of philosophy, ethics, liberation theology, and global politics.

The introduction to the nature and purpose of Christian ethics presents an ethical theory consistent with the fundamental insights of the Christian tradition. 'Ethics and Liberation' outlines an ethic which provides guidelines for responsible stands on contemporary issues, be they personal or socio-political. Exploring both the strengths and weaknesses of traditional Christian ethics, Kammer proposes going beyond them to an ethic of theonomous responsibility, one based on the precepts of liberation theology. Stressing the socio-political dimension of ethics, Kammer follows the threads of Christian tradition that led to an emphasis on personal salvation and a neglect of social issues. Finally, he traces the path from Christian realism through liberation theology. 'Ethics and Liberation' concludes with a discussion of two serious test casesÓ in contemporary moral issues: the distribution of health care, and nuclear disarmament.

This book aims to reinvigorate the Marxist project and the role it might play in illuminating the way beyond capitalism. Though political economy and scientific investigation are needed for pure Marxism, Martin’s argument is that the extent to which these elements are needed cannot be determined within the conversations of political economy and other investigations into causal mechanisms. What has not been done, and what this book does, is to argue for the possibility of a rethought Marxism that takes ethics as its core, displacing political economy and "scientific" investigation.

Enrique Ambrosini Dussel is and has been one of the most prolific Latin American philosophers of the last 100 years. He has written over fifty books, and over three hundred articles ranging over the history of the Latin American philosophy, political philosophy, church history, theology, ethics, and occasional pieces on the state of Latin American countries. Dussel is first and foremost a moral philosopher, a philosopher of liberation. But for him, philosophy must be liberated so that it may contribute to social liberation. In one sense, "beyond philosophy" means to go beyond contemporary, academicized, professionalized, and "civilized" philosophy by turning to all that demystifies the autonomy of philosophy and turns our attention to its sources. "Beyond philosophy," also means to go beyond philosophy in the Marxian sense of abolishing philosophy by realizing it. This is the definitive English language collection of Dussel's enormous body of work. It will allow the reader to get a good sense of the breath and depth of Dussel's opus, covering four major areas: ethics, economics, history, and liberation theology.

This book offers an interdisciplinary effort to address global health issues grounded on a human rights framework seen from the perspective of those who are more vulnerable to be sick and die prematurely: the poor. Combining his scholarship and service in impoverished communities, the author examines the connection between poverty and health inequalities from an ethical perspective that considers contributions from different disciplines and the voices of the poor.