Clavigero, memories of the future: On the current state of New Spain philosophy.

Abstract

The article advances a critical rereading of Francisco Xavier Clavigero’s thought through the lens of its relevance in the twenty-first century, arguing that his work provides a privileged framework for reconsidering the Novohispanic philosophical tradition from perspectives that challenge the predominance of academic Eurocentrism. Methodologically, it is conceived as a historical-philosophical essay grounded in documentary analysis, comparative interpretation, and a theoretical corpus that includes Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Alonso de la Veracruz, Hobbes, Voltaire, Wiener, and the Novohispanic scholastic tradition. The central argument is organized around five axes. First, Clavigero’s anticipation of contemporary debates on automatons and intelligent machines through analogies between animal organisms and mechanical devices. Second, his examination of animals and “giants,” which opens an early space for zoology, paleontology, and the critical study of Indigenous and European mythologies. Third, his recognition of Indigenous scientific and technical innovations, asserting that New Spain surpassed Enlightenment Europe in several domains of knowledge. Fourth, his incorporation of Arabic and Indo-Persian philosophy as legitimate components of a plural Mexican philosophical tradition. Fifth, his critique of European racism, colonial inequality, and the identity distortions produced by such structures. Finally, the article proposes a rewriting of Mexico’s philosophical history by recovering Clavigero’s intellectual complexity and opening new lines of inquiry in the philosophy of technology, artificial intelligence, philosophical anthropology, the history of Novohispanic science, and decolonial studies. It concludes that Clavigero’s work is indispensable for a situated, critical, and universally relevant Mexican philosophy.