tnoqe 8ur>lulqt slH '$t K1t,ro1o4) qrno5 Surpeorl peor eql uo ellq,^ ' ulelsulal1solEls ,.'soleruolss^ to s>lJo,^ Parlallol eql pue ',fueuorlcrp € 'leuturer8d.rotrnponur u€ qlr

^. qsruedg PEaJ 01 qes,{tu rg8ner L,'SL6I Pue'€L6I

'7L6I uI of,rxetr{ 01 POIa^Er] ag 'drqszrtolla{ rllreosou uollEPunoc ruraguaS

-3ng e go dlaq aqr grl.4\ 9L6l u\ paqsrlqnd tqdosolqd lsIIEuU uPf,IrauIY

ultel uI fpnrs e 'lqBnoql uaztxary ]o [.lrn1o4 aql 1ooq srq Sur.reprsuor

.{g parerra.rddr rseq oq uEf, Surlurqr reproq olul suollualrollll s.ulelsulol1

ECNI)NIHI UECIUOS SI IVHIN

'qroq uI uotlertdsut srl spug la.{ suorlrpert IEuoIlEu uellraluYurte'I pue uellroruv spaaJxa ,(qdosolqd s(ulalsule4\'spro,tr Jeqlo uI 'uoll-rperr .reln8urs E speofxe >lro,^a sII{ 'dqdosolrqd lecrrrlod ueflraurv urrel ,tq

pef,uangul pue pauer{ 'sef,I.Iauv aqr 1o raqdosolrqd e osle rnq ;eqdosolrqd

ueJrraurv ue dldurs tou sI uletsuralg 'tcedur srq 1o adocs aql .^aorreu ol sl

uourpeJl lerrqdosolqd 'S'n e to lxetuol aqr ur .,(1uo ulelsulelN Io >lulql or

teql 3urn8Je ,rqSnoqr qsrued5 puB uetrrJrruv urre-I uo lro.1\\ dpea s.uratsurarlx

Sur8e8ua dq suonsanb asaqt saroldxo rardeqr srql ;dqdosopqd lecrrrlod uer

-rroruv ot etnglrtuoc ro 'd1r.re1c 'aluutuinllt uouElglsself,er sllll tq8rur ,u.o11

adqdosopqd uellroruv IEf,ISSEIf, 1o enbrtr.rc slq PuelsraPun a,{\ leql de,taqr a8ueqr tr seop 'os ;t 'puy ilslroel{r laProq E ulalsulelN 'V IaEI{JII I sl

"tq'noq1 clperuoN" 'aznalag salllc-

.sepol aqr Surderse ,,{q areld

erIIPS agl ut .,(els ol ]ees degf uaq,tn ,.rrrrq ,rr1t.r.ApE JIpPuou aql' ' ' eJnluelpe ue sE tng 'elpls .(reut8rro sE lou luslperrrou JJpIsuoJ

ry8noq1 uotmaytl Jo K1rttt1o4 aqa 'utalsuta26 'V IeeqlIW-'sul>ls uoxes

1n;qrnod ur pareedde e^Eq .(sullz'L, ' alodo.rlau eql ParrrllSul.^aou seq 'dlturaporu yo sur8reu eql te pa;eadde lsJg riJlq.^ 'rusqeurg

oQsatS-olos 'g uowvd

dqdosolltld uerlreruvlsrrssel] Pue 8uIryF{I reProg

'etitlod Jo marnay aql .,'uouezl::.:

Eurlor€J qlnos Jo .tltsra,ttun :Prt{u:-'lul.ld'!-( [ 's::-

-Ja^rull' Lus llt2ut J P uo us q o lu a t t t i :., : ; : -,

.(lrsra.,rrur) :lsJeqruY' anl,tt\ Lro s;/. ;i -- : uretsureAt dyg tuqredun L

108 Ram6n E. Soto-Crespo

finalism and antipositivism derived from a very specific geopolitical loca-

tion in the Americas. 'sfhereas finalism posits a final causality that moti-vates its forward-looking evolutionary movement, vitalism believes in life's

vital force as that which propels life forward. At the border, finalist thoughtaffirmed vital life and critiqued positivism as an instrumentalization of liv-ing experience. Fundamentally antipositivist, finalist philosophy positioneditself as a counterforce to the philosophical positivism dominating LatinAmerican politics. \Weinstein's work represents one of the first intervetl-tions into finalism-a foundational philosophy that would inform borderthinking in the twentieth century. Border thinking uses finalist insights in itspolitico-philosophical stance against the biopolitical management of iife inmodern societies.

According to cultural theorist \Talter Mignolo, border thinking results

fron-r the combination of two ir-rterrelated discourses: one described by Fou-

cault as "subjugated knowledge" and another described by Darcy Ribeiroas " subaltern knowled ge " l" cctn ct cimi ent o sub alt er n o" l ( P ow er / Knctw l e d g e

82 Las Americas 68). Border thinking emerges at the meeting place of"subjugated knowledges"-those knowledges that are disqualified as ille-gitimate, bastard, or low ranking-and "subaltern knowledges"-the localknowledges that stem from the margins of global Modernity (Local Histo-ries 19). Something akin to a Foucaultian critique of biopower from belou'.

border thinking bases its approach on three main components: antipositivistpolitics (the critique of the instrumentalization of life by the modern state

and global corporate power); the vitalist affirmation of life (the critiqueof postcivilized modernity as an illusion of individual freedom while tech-

niques for the diminishing of life's experience are institutionalized); and the

finality of our life experience (the critique of the vestiges of immortalitrthat remain masked under a biopolitics of the management of human life inmodern technocracies ).

Building on these antipositivist philosophical currents) \Weinstein

addresses the coloniality of power by introducing a critique of biopower thatis framed in terms of border thinking. Consider, for instance, his descriptionof a tr,rrning point in the history of 'Western imperialism, where the colonialimpetus reverses course from the margins to the center:

\While Western irnperialisrl was expanding, positivistic methods of con-

trol could be imposed on external colonies' giving the citizens of the

metropole the luxury of relatively liberal institutions . . . Thrown on the

defensive, imperialism turns inward, replacing politics with administra-tion aimed at manipulating markets and preserving internal security.

(Polarity 10t

Positivism, having moved from the imperial margins to the center of dimin-ishing empires, acquired new impetus as "a system of instrumental politics.

adaptable by any power group that seeks to maintain control in a threatening

B '-:.

situation" (Polarity 10). \\ c:::.:the margins of the Ameri.-r : -

mentalization of modernirr, :-rpread of global design' in r ,

that its main effect is the in: '.

p,rlitical philosopher hed .'.systematic devaluing of hu::,.r-or of \fleinstein. In work .rr.:r1994), we encounter a line , : :ever-greater instrumentaliz.rr: .

in detecting and deterritorial:2 .

that devalue existence wor1.i,,,. .

oromised ro Weinsteirr a Ln: -

ro provide its viral opporirr,'-and Guattari called, in Noiir.;,:schoiar C6sar Herndndez-Ce -.:.

,\merican thinking "offerls] -:::rhought of the more 'advance :'

If on the way to the boric:.iramed \Teinstein's thinkins.philosophy had become for \\ -rhat is fundamentally inforn:-:his time in Mexico, "l felt m. ..\ot surprisingly. his rerunl :

r.uck with " braceros" -thc :'..

nomadic existence s?turSts> . -

ineaning "human armsr" is ::-of the instrumentalization , :los," the closest to a "bar- ..

.rre key to understanding rh. .

rhe wire" and become noln.:*protections.

FROM POSITIVISM TO BOR

Border thinking is fundamcn:-..Jereloped by Latin Amerr. .

carly twentieth centurier. p'.:-\merican society and began -: .

ratuses of the modern sratc. --'h,ruld mirror at the narirJl:-. :

subjects at the individual ler -..over their material circumsr::--.as a "set of social structures .,,.

Jo uorlelnunf,Jp tuerf,gJe eql sr aldrluud osoq^\ sernlf,nrts lErf,os,o tes,, e sepodolo,tap serlrTod rsrlrrrsod '$ Kr.w\ofl (<seruelsurnf,rn lerreleru rrer{l ra^osSurag uerunr{ Jo Iortuol snorJsuoJ-Jles eq},, ,1a.Lo1

lenpr^rpur er{l te slcafqns

lucrlrlod urolse/N roJ polro.la. per{ ter{.^ Ia^el IEuouEu er{t te rorrrul plnoqsalets eql teqr Jarloq lerrSoloapr da>1 slr dq ue,trrp ,atels uraporu egt Jo sosnt?r-edde e^Lrlerlsrurrupp aqt SurlcaJrad;o ssecord e ue8eq pue dlanos uelrreruyuIl€-I JOAO af,uenlrur slr pepusxa psq rusrlrlrsod 'serrnluet qlanuarrtl ,{1,183

PUE I{luealeuru olEI ar{r uJ 'rqSnoqr lsqpuu uEf,rreuIv urrp-I {q padola,r.apploJters aql uo splrnq rr ro; .lsr,rrlrsodrrue dlleruauppunt sr Burlurqt raprofl

DNI)NIHI U[CruOg OJ WSIAIIISOd IAIOU{

'suorlcalo.rd1e8al pue slq8r.r 1ra,rc ;o paddrrrs slcafgns Jrpetuou otuof,ag pue (<eJr.4 oq]r0lo ssorf,,, or{^ asoql;o Surzrleluerunrtsur aqt Burpuelsrepun ol da4 are'spuel.raprog oql ur aJuelsrxa yo addr <a;ll areq, E ot lsesolf oqt,,,so.r-a)olg,,',bluraporu d.rerodualuol ur eJrl Jo uorlEzrlEluarunrlsur ar{t JoeJnleu elrlf,npeJ er{r Jo aldruexa lca;rad aqJ sr ,,.stul€ uerunq,, Burueaur,,'sota?g.tg,,'spuEIJapJog uEf,rxoW-.S.n aqr sel€Jnles efuelsrxe f,rpEruouasol[1!\ sJO]Jo,4A lerntlncrr8e uEJrxeW luer8[u eqJ- .<sota2gtq,, qlr.1!1.lj)nJ]E Jo >ll€q agr ur eceld ]oot Japroq erlt tuorJ urntar srq Al8ursr.rdrns toNI'ft1 ct8ot1) (<lueurole urrto dur ur Sur,tour;1asdu rla;1,, ,oJrxey4 ur aurl srr{

;o s,,{es uratsura/N sy'aBpalzrrou>l roproq ,(g paurro;ur dlluruaruepunt sr leqleuo 'd1rletr^n IEf,rlrJJ ,r\eu to oJJnos € uralsuralfi rol aruof,aq peq dqdosolrqduef,rraurv urle-J lErll asuos sa>l€Iu lr uaql ,3ur4urqt s<ur3lsura/N peu€J'Per{ s8urltr,lt perf,ellol s.solaluof,sp^ gsof 'rap.roq eqr or ,(errt aqr uo ;1

'ft77 [,lrto1od.) ,.suoueN urelse/N (pafuelpe, eroru eq] Jo rr{Bnor{rf,IleJf,ouqJat lueuruopa.rd aql ol a^rlEuJetle up [s]tago,, Buqurqr uEJrreurvUIIE-I

^^Oq ./$.OqS S>IJO,^A S(UIEISUIA/X\ 'Ir SlNd EIEJ-ZEPU€UJOH JESOJ JEIOq]S

ourle'I sy '(tarssoQ) <<sturoj rrlodsep,, ,[,7o1opotuoy1ur ,pa1Pr rr€rpnC pupaznalec t€r{t sorlrluo drBrodrualuot osoql ot uorlrsoddo Ielr^ slr apra.o.rd otPenuuuof, lqdosopqd-aJrl eroq^{ uozrroq IBJurrf, E urelsura/( ol pas[uordroProg 's'n eql Jo r{rnos sorrolrrrel aql .epr^\plJo.4 ef,uelsrxe enlE^op leqlslf,nJlsuof, uerJelrroqtne SurmorS-ra.La aql BurzrlerJolrJJelap pue Burpalap urreeJef, 3uo1 e to auol or]l tes K77to7o4 .aJII

Jo uortezr1eluarunrlsur .ratear8-re,raaql Jo rneruolqord eqr stuo{uor reqr rq8noqr Jo euq E relunof,ue elv^,(V66I)qsoq otoe ot (9 L6I) ftLrto1o1 ruo.r; ,1rom reryE >lro.4 uI .urolsura/N

Jo ro^-ra} eql gllr\\ .,barf,os pazrlra,rrlsod ul eJII uerunq ;o 3urn1e,,r,ap rueurels,{s.{rnluar-qrarrua^r E pJ€-^ ol uJnl srrJr pa8e8ua peq raqdosolqd lecrrrlodrer{to oN 'quee uo aJrl uerunr{ Jo tueuqsrro,rodurr eqt sr rraJto uretu str ler{lsllnlul pue aJII d.reraueld IIE Jo luerua8eueru aql ur su8rsap 1eqo18;o peardsaqr sa8ualegr rulodpuets lecrgdoso[r{d slH (lru.reporu

Jo uonezrleluaur-nrlsul ryqop aqt ot asuodsar e sE ecuarJadxa uefuaruv aql ;o sur3teru oqluo-ry sa8reua Sur4urqr repJog Jo pu€rq s(uretsurol1t .@1 K11to1o4) ,,uouenlrs

601 Kqdosopq4 uo)ttawv puo 3ur4utq1nprcg

SurualeaJqt E ur IoJluoJ uleruleur or sl's:rtrlod IEtuJunJtsul 1o uats.is e.. =r-upulp Jo ralueJ aql ol surS-reu IEITTJ

r91Kt1,tv1o4)'dlrrnras IEuJOIuI Sut,t.rasard pup st:

-EJtsrurupe qlr,l srtttlod Suneldarp:arp uo u.

^oJgl ' ' ' suollnlllsul leJf,.ll'

eql to suozlllr eLIl 8uIAI8 'satuolor -r

-uof to spoqtau rtlst,ltttsod 'Surpur;r

:JJIUJJ JLll Ot S*::

Ipruolol eql eJeq,la 'rustlet:adtut u.:::r;uortdr-rrsop srLl 'eJuetsul J01 'JJF\r\-.. )teqt ra.,ra.odorq ;o enbrlrrr e Surln3c:: -uratsulOlN'slualJnf, lecrqdosolrq:

ur aJrl ueurnq;o luarua8eueu aql;. ::.{}r1euorurur Jo sagltsa^ aqt ,1o anbr::aqr Pue !(pazrleuotrnlllsul JrP afuail&-qlel Ollq./l\ uopaaJt IEnPI.\IPul lo J.anbur.rc eql) oJll Jo uolreturg1e rsile:elBls urapou aql dq aJII Jo uollrzl-r:lsrarlrsodtlue :sluauodu.;or urEui r:: L':

lr,royaq ruo.r; re.uodorq 1o anbrrrlr L:::i-ots!H lo)o1.l ,{rru.repoll 1eqo1S : i-]Ef,ol oqt-(6se8pa1-a,rou1 urerlpqns - ]-rlp sE pagrlenbsrp erE rEr.ll seS:;1 '''.

;o aceld Sutlaaur oql tP sa8rau:: "-'-a8p almouyl,tamo 4) f ,,o

t t.t a qr q r t : t, ;:o a

oJreqrU dcreq dq pagursap rrLIloLr-nog dq peqrrlsap auo :sesrnorslp ::lstlnsar Surlurqt reproq 'o1ouSr11 :;:

ul aJII Jo luarua8eueu lerrrrlodorq :'-slr ur stq8rsul tsITEug sesn 3ur1ur:-,,: :::rsproq urroJur PIno,/\^. reqr .iqdosc,l.--uJAJJIUl -lsl9 Jqr JO auo slu)s;--::urte-I SurlBulurop ruslllltsod lertu-c:,pauortrsod,,{qdosolqd tsIIEug'lsI-\it;s-AII tO UOIIEZIIeIUOUInJISUI ue sE -Lusi-r

rqSnoqt lsqeug 'raproq aqr ty 'pre.\rj,

s,aJ]l ul selalleq rusIIelIA'tuatua.rolu-uou teql trtllesnec IEug E sttsod r..

-Erol IEJIlIIodoaB rgrcads .,(-ra-r e tutr.

110 Ram6n E. Soto-Crespo

means for collective action, such as wealth, power, influence, and loyalty"(Polarity 3). Epitomized by the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz, in Mexico.from 1876 to 1.911, positivism became a primary target of finalist philoso-phy. Antipositivism contested the scientific rationalization of culture, espe-cially the modernization of society that was at the heart of pro-\festerncivilization and its dictatorships in the Americas. Accordingly, Latin Ameri-can finalism rebelled against "a civilization that mechanizes human activitl'through instrumentally rational hierarchical organizations and behavioristicideologies" (Polarity 15).

Antipositivists opposed the perfection of society via scientific methods,the socialization of production, and economic development via industrializa-tion. They were concerned that "the public situation in the twentieth centurywas not evolving in the directions of love, justice, and peace, but was markedby the emergence of more refined techniques of dominatio n" (P olarity 5) . Intheir view, these technologies of the state "seemed to result in the appropria-tion of human beings-as-instruments by elites rather than in the liberation ofhumanity, the proletariar, or the individual" (Polarity 5). Thus, finalism rep-resented an "attempt to redeem and rescue intrinsic value from the threatsposed by instrumentalist institutions and ideologies" (Polarity 4). Theycondemned the treatment of human beings either as "natural resources"or as functionaries serving ulterior organizational ends (Polarity 8).Their treatises represented a "way of encountering the problems of aninstrumentalist civilization" (Polarity 6). For \Teinstein, these philosophersof the Americas had "eschewed liberalism, Marxism, and traditionalismin their search for a 'new humanism,' attempting to forge visions of anauthentic community grounded first in vitalism and later in existentialism"(Polarity "Preface"). They had absorbed Bergsonian vitalism in their think-ing and, as a result, their philosophy defended the vital impetus at the heartof being, the 6lan uital, against positivist (modernists/utilitarian/capitalist)and idealist (communist/fascists) philosophies. In the words of political sci-entist John Hart, Weinstein's work elucidates how these thinkers challenged"authoritarianism and hierarchy" ("rWeinstein" 1395). Likewise, politicaltheorist Howard \Tiarda refers to \Weinstein's work as "innovative" pre-cisely because he makes perfectly clear that "Mexican political philosophershad initiated a revolt against positivism and instrumentalism long beforetheir North American counrerparts and that they had developed an originalresponse to nineteenth century evolutionism rooted in vitalism and person-alism" ("P olarity" 25 6).

Latin American philosophy provided'Weinstein with a kindred reaffirma-tion of his antipositivist viewpoint, given that these life-philosophers haddeveloped philosophical positions that were "strikingly similar to my own"(Tragic 12). Jos6 Vasconcelos, Octavio Paz, Carlos Vaz Ferreira, Alejandrode Vista, Alejandro Korn, and Antonio Caso ali presented in their philo-sophical meditations unexpected ways of encountering the world. Look-ing for a way out of the trappings of modern civilization and its sprawling

Border Tl:

global logic of instrumenralization.rheir philosophical inspecrion. \enrrvhere demons and masked sa\-age!lands. This strategy is of grear impoat the heart of positivism a srrarisLatin American philosophy preterrexamination of the heart" (Polaril,an organic logic, that is ro sar; a rhe,coordinating wholes" (Polari4. 13 .

argues, "all the fragments [are] joinein Polarity 23).

Although Weinstein is critical of rpoints of finalist philosophr', he ne.

major contribution to Mexican thrruodology for thinking" (Polarih, I) .

Latin American cultural theorisr>. istivist thought but also to the inrelleVasconcelos's philosophy left an r,':'r;

American cultural treatises such as C

Gloria Anzaldia's Borderland-</L; .

Histories/Global Designs. These arcnewly constituted canon of border rl

Building on Paz's reading of \asMignolo point out that \''asconce r.r:not only a new mythos but also a ::,

a confluence of many streams ol r--..-

ferent way of encountering rhe u-ori.was better apprehended as a coni!^lLr:As the father of a borderland consci,sophical counterlogic to nvenrier:-when the world found itself dominar,Vasconcelos prioritized cultural aniPaz's later on, those despised as raciborder mongrels, as wanderers, nomthe center of an antipositivisr polinc.Marias, a Latin American finalisr ;reconceptualizing consciousness fron"a state of crisis in human exisrcn;eof a certain form of life and confronrstein explains that by developing rhis"Latin American thinkers provided r

(Polarity 14). At the geographical ixthe border subject, these thinkers provitalism of the Americas. "So I harr r

Weinstein (Tragic 25). His earh-n'orl

rrror{dsruaq p ot rapeer aql uodsuert s>lro^a dlrea sr11 '$7 t13ot1) urotsure/NssssJJuoJ ,,'seuolsrq uae,^ueq poJapup/\\ e^eq I os,, 'sefrraruv 3qr Jo rusrlElr^e 1{trsualur ,^aeu E r{lr,{\ uralsure/N popr,rord sro>lunp asaql 'lcalgns raproq oql

Jo spuelraprog rauur ar{t olur pue reproq lecrqdefoaS eqt tV '$1 [.\ttu1o7)((uoIlIpEJl Ierluolsrxa aql olur drlua aur papr,lord s.relurqr uerrJaurv urtel,,'ursr,rrlcads.rad leorpe.r Jo puels roproq srqt Surdola,Lap .{q ruqr sureldxa urets-ule,4N '(/ K1tw1otr) ((sorusol luoerlJ E luoryuoJ pue e1ll Jo ruJot ureuaf, e tosJerluory eqr qJeeJ aldoad uaql\ sJnf,f,o af,uelsrxa ueunq ur srsrJJ Jo aluls e,,:a;rl ueunq ur a8els IErf,nJf, E sE 1(olag uroJt ssousnorJsuol Surzrlenldaruocar

Jo luaruoru srqt pa;nldec laqdosolrqd rs4eug uetrreruv urle-I E 'ser.rey4ugllnf legl san8re uretsuralN 'tra[o.rd lerrrrlod ]srlrtrsoduue uE Jo retuef oqlle se^losruaql punot-sprrg,(q pue 'speurou 'slarapuervr se 'sler8uoru repJoqse 'sp.retseq se-stgsrtu Iernllnt pue IErtrEr se pasrdsap asoql 'uo retel s(zedur se 1{qdosollrld s1{ uI 'ernlxru IETJET pue lerntlnt pezrlrrorrd sole3uolsenArr.rnd yo sarSoloepr;o urnrlrods e ,{q pateuruop lastr punoJ plro.^ ar{r uar.l^\eLLrIl € ]Y 'susrlodsap lurrfrlod d-rntuar-qtarlue.{\t ol rrSol.ralunoc lerrqdos-o1rqd e pesodo.rd solofuof,se1 'sseusnorJsuol puelraprog E Jo JeqrEJ aqr sV'(91 o1ou8r14) spuel;ep;oq erlt Jo sseusnorf,suor E sE papuaqa.rdde rauaq se,usro>lurql uef,rraruv urte-I Jot leqt euo 'plrozrt eql Suuelunotue to .,(e.la, lue.ra;-JIp E parntlnls per1 solef,uof,se1 'rq8noqr Jo sruEeJts dueru;o of,uenltuoJ E

q8no.rqr Suryurqr dg 'ssausnorfsuor ,4.au e osle lnq soqrdtu ^\eu

E .{1uo rouot roop aqr pauado peq ,{qdosolqd s,soleruotse1 rerp lno turod olou8ry,gpuv vnplezuy 'acer f,rrusof s.soleluofse1 yo Surpea; s.zpd uo Surplrng

,'8ur>1urql raproq to uoueJ patntrtsuor d1,tauaqr or adugs a,rr8 leql stxat da1 oerr{t ore asaql 'szz8zsae pqolg/sauo$tHlwoj s<olou8rlag .rar1er16 puy 'un1uo,tl o'I/spuoqaprcg s.EnplEZuV erJolD

'apwtlog Jo qruuf4a1 aqI s(zed or Etf,O sp q:lns sesueerl lerntlnl uEJrrJruVurlel drntuaJ-qlartue.^al .rolBtu uo tuudtur uE rlel dqdosolrqd s<solef,uotse^'Suqurqr roprog Jo tueudolo^op lentlallelu oqt ot osle tnq lq8noql tsr,r.rr-tsodtlue s(urolsura/N or dluo lou IEJluaf sr 'slsrroaql IEJnllnr uElrJeurv urlellueuodurr lsoru erll Jo auo 'solaluocsen '(71 Kl!,wloril ,,8ur1urqt .ro; dSolopo-qleur p se rusr,trlrsod e8e8ua ol se,Aa rq8noqt uef,rxa1l{ ol uortnqrrluor .ro[eu(solaf,uorsen,, se8palnou>lre ssalaqua^au eq ',(qdosopqd tsrleu5 ;o slurod-pue rrdotn pup sououepun lerrls,,(ru aqt Jo IElnrrJ sr uralsurerN q8noqlly

'Q7 K11n1o7 u1

'ptb) .,uoueurprooJ q8no.rqr.ragtaSot pauro[ [a.re] sruaur8e{ aql 11e,, 'san3.resoleJuof,sp1 'ssausnor3suof, uerunq uI '(€Z [.4n1o7) ((saloq,ta Surleurp-rooc

;o ssaco.rd E,r se ef,uelsrxa uerunq;o droaqr e !,{es ol sr ter{l'cr3o1 crue8ro uesdo1a.,r.ep solaf,uof,se1 'lrega srqt oI '(gI Kll,tploJ) ((uEOLI oqt Jo uoueururexaaroluls,, aqr :poq]eu lertuetsrxa ue par.rayo.rd dqdosolrqd uef,rreuv urle-J

'lseJtuof, dg ',,br.ror-ralur ;o uorle8au rr8ale.rls e rusr,rrlrsod Jo uear{ aqr rEslfelop aq esneloq 'uralsurarl ro; acuuuodrur lear8 10 sr ,,(Satens srrll 'spuel-reproq leuos.red un o rrellt petrqequr sa8e,res pelspru pue suouap arer.l^\

's.raprog rrqodsd Jrar{t ol pre,laur 8ur-rnluea 'uorlladsur lecrqdosolrqd rraql

;o adocs eqr papuedxo srolurqt esoql 'uorlBzrlelueunrlsur ;o cr3o1 1eqo13

nI f.qdosopq1 uo)uauv pua Sut4urql Dp,tog

8ur1.u,e,rds slr puu uortezrlr.\rr .-

-Ioo.1 'plro.&\ eqt Surratuntr:..-o1rqd .rraqr ur patuasa-rd 11i. :

o.rpuetely'erraueg zEA sol--.'\

,,u.uo dtu ot JEIrulrs i13ur1i::s."peq s.raqdosoyrqd-a;r1 esrL{t :'..-eluJytBer ParPurI P qtr.\\ ur:-!.

-uosrad pue rusrlslil ur prra,,- jleur8r.ro ue padolarap peq i:-:eroJag 3uo1 usrieluelunlts--. :s.raqdosolrqd lecrrrlod uprr\: ;',;-eld ,,a,Ltle,LouuI,, se {Jo.\\ i.-1ecr1r10d 'asr,ra,aT1 '(_c5tI ..- :pa8ualleqr srelurqt esaL{t \', -

.

-trs lecrtrlod Jo spro.\\ rul Li ::(tsrlelrdeeTuurrEtrlrln/slsru-:: -

ueeq eqt te sntadur IPrr.\ ;''-: :-lulr.ll JlJql ul ulsllell \ u1'r- :l(.rusrlBrluolsrxa ur Jolel pur '-"!uE Jo suorsr,t a3.ro1 ol 8ur:;,rusrl€uorlrpeJt pu€'rusrr:r11s,raqdosoyqd esagt 'urJlsur: 1., -

uP to sruelqo;d aqt Sur:::":-'(g ,{Lttu1o4) spua IEuo.l'.: -((sef,Jnosal IEJnIEU ,, sP i: -: . :Iaql '(t Kytap4 ) ..srr: ::slEorql aql ulo{ enlE.\ -ars-:-:-do.r rusrleug 'snqI 'rc ,i;;..:'. _

to uorlEragrl aql ur UELIr rr*'r':'- :

-errdordde eql ur tlnsrr ol r:*;u1'$ [,p.ta1o7) ,,uor]eurtuo: -

palJeru se,/\\ tnq 'alead put' ': I ..,{.rnluac qlerlue.r\l aql ur uou'.::-Ezrlerrlsnpul Ell tuarudole \:: :

'spoLlrJLu rUlluerfs er.r .i-l:,: -

lrtsrlol^EqJq puB suol-iEZr ul':-,{lr,trlce ueurnq sezIuEqJOLu :ir --

-rrJr.uV urtul',{lSu rproJJy s i':uratsarl6-ord Jo ueeq ar{l lL sr

-adsa 'arnllnr to uorlpzrlEuoir.-osolrqd lsrlEuU 1o ta8,rer i.rr.-'oJrxJlAI ul 'zElc olrSrL)d lo -,,dl1e-,(o1 pue'acuangur'ra.toc

112 Ram6n E. Soto-Crespo

geography of shifting landscapes, to a border consciousness' and to polyva-lent cartographies of thought.

BECOMING A BORDER SAVAGE

At the heart of 'Weinstein's critical antipositivist and vitalist views, we findlife, the "6lan uital or vital impetus at the heart of being" (Structwre ix).This is a vitalism that repudiates, like Vasconcelos and Nietzsche, "symbolicsubstitutes" for life's complexity (Strwctwre x). If these symbolic substitutes

replace "life with meaning" in the form of symbolic harmonies, then criti-cal vitalism would provide a "life grasped without symbolic completionsor harmonies" (Structure x-xr). Consistent with antipositivism, Weinsteinproposes a "critical examination and defense of our being as it is lived fromwithin" (Structure xr).

In the spirit of border thinking,'Weinstein invites us to accept an under-

standing of experience that is composed primarily of "conflicting tenden-

cies and incapable of final reconciliation" (Structure ix). In this sense, he

had developed a particular coordinated consciousness by having adopted

the finalist concept of zozobra. Against the grain of the American philo-sophical tradition, 'Weinstein introduces us to "a mode of existence thatrefuses to sacrifice values, although the values appear to be contradictory"(Polarity 1.08). Zozobra, ashe describes it, is "an attempt to 'burn the can-

dle at both ends,' to coordinate heterogeneous elements in their totalities"(Polarity 109). Therefore, zozobra for \Teinstein "describes the ceaseless

transit between perspectives on human existence-this transit itself presup-

poses contingency" (Polarity 109). This form of relation between poles, orpolarity of thought, seems to be "the most consistent with Mexican final-ist thought" (Polarity 107). As a fundamental relationality between poles,

zozobra is something like a dance, a nomadic dance at the borders of instru-

mentalized culture.\Writing for The Hispanic American Historical Reuiew, critic '$Tilliam

J. Kilgore (1930) finds that .Weinstein's philosophical understanding ofZoZobra provides extfeme clarity to one of the least understood concepts

originating south of the border. He explains that 'Weinstein grasps eoeo-

bra's primary insights: " a way of attempting to coordinate opposing forces

found in human experience without the exclusion of either and with the

living in tension between the two" (51,3). Zozobra, located at the heart ofborder thinking, is precisely where we encounter the polarity of thoughtthat attempts to actualize contradictory values. Akin to Deleuze's nomad

thought, border consciousness coordinates a myriad of intensities, and

its location is a deterritorialized dwelling in the in-between of cultures, ofstates, and of other modern despotic inventions. In Deleuzian terms, goZo-

bra's dance is construed as the "play of high and low intensities" that takes

place in the plane of intensities ("Nomadic" 257)' \7ith his/her pla5 the

Border T

border savage keeps a perpetual mi257). Border thinking thus fun.ricrhizome, where "a high coetficiennormalizing (or despotic) forces at

Inspired by Vasconcelos, \-einshim into a border savage: "l s'anthem simultaneously" (Tragic 2l .

landscape,'Weinstein writes, "Finalof modernity, has now infiltrated Iin youthful Saxon skins" (Polarinincubated in the Global South begfertile soil in New Left movemenr,ground in devising a series of *inte

istic polity that organizes life accor

nistic processes" (Polarity 10t.Founded on finalist insighrs.

instrumentalization of life and itsues. The border savage, a "Latin-the language of decolonization tovalues by modern technocracies.alrzing refers to that aspect of nriry of human existence over and ;life. As Latin Americanist criric S

about "'finalism' with its empl'la,

con "a meaningful alternatir e r.t ir( "Institution alized" 292\.

DETERRITORIALIZING CL,{.SS]

"The most famous North Americ;work resembles that of Caso. \ a"in Polarity, thereby illuminating a '

that has penetrated classical -{merlosophies of Santayana, Josiah RorDewey, The.Wilderness and tl:e Crlwith the main pillars of U.S. polin"[f]or several decades the Ameri.-.moribund" (156). Santayana reFlr,

geographical movement of life-phsophical thought to areas south o:

denotes something like an anomahad been territorialized by a belieioutcome of a foundational haretSantayana "placed himself outsid

Pue (cuolllPerl lErnllnJ uefIJeIuV oql aPISrno flasurrq paJEId,, euEdeluEq'uta1su1a16 ol Surprorry .oluolsrxa rot perrELI l€uo4ppuno, e Jo oruoJtnoeqr_sE aJII 11e 1o Surnletuaurutsur aql ur Jerloq e dq pazrler.rolrrrol uoaq peudqdosopqd u€lrrarrrv Jo oro) aqt rot tleruoue ue a41'Burqtotuos setouapeuedelue5 ,,u.ar,r. srq uI :raproq .S.n ar{l Jo qtnos ,"rr"-ol lqbnoqr letrqdo_.-ollqd 'S'n to raluar oqr urory .(qdosolqd-afll

'o tuouraloru lerrqderdoa8

ogt ol uortdaf,xo ue urolsulelxr .ro; stuasarda.r euedBlues '(qSf j .,punQr.rotuueoq seq dqdosollqd-oJll Jo uorrrperr uerrraruv eqr sepelap 1e.re,ras ro[] *'srutepord urarsulol)N 'areq1 'rq8noqr lecrrrlod

.S.n to srelpd ureu aqr qlr,$

luaua8e8ue snorros lsoru s(urelsugarg s1 lC713 aql put2 ssaunpfy aql,iattaquqof pue^'sauef ruerlplX ,ac.rra4 .5.3 ,at,(o6 qersof ,euedetue5

;o sarqaosol-tqd aqr 3ur11ce1 '(yg1) dqdosolrqd uurrraruv l€rrssel, peterleuad ,"q l"qiluerrnf,repun yecrqdosoyqd leuoneusuerl e Burleurulnllr ,(qaraqt,r{&w1o4 ur.ur3lsulelx\ salrJl( ,.,SOlUeu pue ,solaruocsen ,ose3

Jo leq] SelgluoseJ >lJo,\\esor{la 'euedelue5 aSroeg sE./$. lsrleug uBJrJeruv qrroN snoru'J rsoru Jr]J_

AHdOSO]IHiI NV]ruIWV fV]ISSV'If, CNIZI-IVnIOIIUUf,IIIO

' (Z6T,,paz111euortnt4sul,, i

(<sueatrl uo snJoJ sll qll,l\ usrlelueruulsur ol olrleuJelle 1n;Buruearu e,, uof-xa_l lEJlfllod rno ot sppE (.spue uo srseqdrua sll gfy\\ (rusrlEug,,, lnoqeslq8rsur s(urJrsurelxt 'sen8.re ssog daluerg Jrlrr) lsruerrreruv urre-I sv .eJll

ra,to luaruaSeuerrr Jo srazu,od eql lsureSe puB JaAo aJuolsrxe .r"*nq ;o ,lai-lerl^ eql pelurUteer reqr rqSnoql tsrleug Jo lcadse leql ot s.ra;a,r Surzrle-Irolrrrelep se dlrleruolorep .ero;erelJI .serJeJ)ouqtel uropour ,,(q sanle rJISurJlur Jo uorrpzrl€lrollrrar e anbrlrJf, ol uorlezruololep Jo a3en3ue1 aqrsasn 'ur1s uoxEs e ,,(g palseu lrrrds ur <ulte-L u ,a8e,4.es iaproq eql .son

-le^ srsurrlur UEL[] reglo ezrleeJ ol e^lrp slr puB aJrl,o uorlBzllElueurnr]sureql se8e8ua a8e,res reproq s(urorsuralxt ,stq8rsur rirleug uo'papunoC

' (91 Klttolo tr) .,sasseco.rd crlsru-eLIlOLu puE senlE^ Ieluournrtsul ol Surptocru a;ry sazrue8ro lEr{l .ftr1od orrsr-,ttrrsod e ol sasuodser lElrFelsrp a1gr8rl1alur,, Jo sarres e Sursr.r,ip ur puno.rSuo{uruor PunoJ r.llnos puE r.{uou qlog .stuauo^otu

ua-I . aaN ur Iros alrlro-+punot rr erer{I 'prp^\quou Surreyncrn ue8ag qlnos lpqolC oi{l ur poteqnlurpeq lEr{l anbrrr.rc lsr^rlrsodnue aqr '(sI K7ttv104) ((sur>ls uoxEs 1n;qrnod uipareadde e^el{ (sut1eT, ' ' . alodorlou oql parerrlyul ,/urou seq ,fli,rirpo*;osur8reu aqr re pereaddB lsrg qllq^\ .tusr1eurg,, ,satlr,to .rrr1r.rirr16 ,aAetspuelqdlru;aporu ul Ilqs e parrrpard 3ur,re11 .(17 ct4vtl) .,dlsnoaueqnurrs rueql8ur,tr1 'san1e,r.{.rotcrperluoJ ozrlpal ol luelv\ 1,,,a8"n"r'repJoq e orq urlqPolurolsuert puq Suqurqt raprog s(uretsurJl1! .soletuocsun dq parrdsul

dealors>rro. a,,o,r,,,i,$lo::r;:Jfi t;:,:;p'#:J:T j:lrTTj[ffi:aqr yo rdacuof, s,ezneleq ol dlrepurs suontrunJ snqr Burlurql nprcg .(1g7

,,crperuo1q,,) sarlrsuotur uaa,laleq uorler8nu Isnledred e sdaal a8eles raproq

tLl Kqdosopq4 uo)xtatuv puo Bur4urqa taprog

:qi 'de1d raq/srq qrr16 '(1_c7 .lprselel luql (.sorlrsuelur .rto1 pue qir:-o:oz (sruJel uBrznalac uI 'suor_lu:,,

:o 'sarntlnc Jo uoe,lllaq-ur aqr ur i:tue tsarlrsuJlul

Jo per.rnLu E ::lE.Peluou s(eznelac ot ur{Y 'sonle'! ,

:q8noqr Jo drFelod eqt ratunolj!lo treer{ erll te peletol (otqo:o7 ' ,,

rql qlr,t\ PUP reqlre Jo uorsnll\e :sarro; Sursoddo alBurprooc o: 3uu;-o-'oz sdse.r8 utJtsulJr( reqr surrl;:tdaruor poolsrapun tseal eqt lo :1o Surpuets:rapun lecrqdosopqJ s.r

-UEIIIL4N tr.1r.tc' mautaY ln ua ls : 11

-nJlsur Jo sreProq aql tE rfupp rrf r','selod uaaluag drlleuorrelar IEtu:;-lBug uEf,rxatr{ L[1]^\ lue]srsuot tsn-_

ro 'sayod uao,/{laq uorlg]al _Jo rrrroj ,

-dnsa;d flasrl rlsuert srqt-af,ualsi\:ssalesBoJ er.p sagrJtsap,, urJlsurJ-\\

.,sOrlrlBlol Jrar{l ur slualuela snoeur:-upl eql uJnq, ol ldtuelle uE,, sr 'l :

. ,(rotcrpe.rtuor aq ot readde srniE.l.leqt Otruelsrxo,o aPotu 8., ol sr. !.-o1rqd uerrraulv aqt ;o urer8 :;: :paldope Sur.teq .,(g ssausnorrsuLrr :aq 'asuas sqt uI '(xt a.n4ltt1S _;,-uapuat Surlcrguol,, ;o ,r1r:erurrj :-Japun ue ldatce ol sn salr-\ur urals:

ulo{ pa^rl sr Jr se Suraq ,ino -Jo :su::ulolsula/N'rusutlrsodrluE qr-r\ t;;-,suortaldr-uor tr;oquls tnoql.\\ i;-:-l-llJl uaql tsaruor,u;eq rrlotlr-u.is r., -

sotnlrlsqns crlogruds asaqt 1 '(\ i*,:,rrloquds,,'aqrszlar51 pue so{aruLr:si'(xr a,Ln4tn,t1c) ,.8uraq Jo upeq ti:puU ellr's,r\ar,r tsqplt^ puE lst.\urs..J

-e,Ld1od ol pue 'sseusnorfsuoJ Jepltl,

114 Ram6n E. Soto-Crespo

positioned himself as not an American "except by long association" (109).

Santayana's location within classical American philosophy is an ambivalentone given that he "shared the universe of discourse of the other Americanclassical philosophers, but not their 'Anglo-Saxon piety"' (127). Santaya-na's life-philosophy embodied for'Weinstein a refreshing distancing fromthe "wilderness." In the context of classical American philosophn the wil-derness stood for "the mental space into which the philosopher withdrewin an act of separation from the moral conventions, the cognitive assump-tions, and the practical certitudes of the 'city'" ('Wilderness 5). The retreatto the "wilderness" promised the thinker a "treasure" that will allow himor her "to reenter community with a special gift" ('Vlilderzess 5). Wein-stein's phrase "'Latin' in Saxon skin" reverberates in his understanding ofSantayana's life-philosophy by presenting him as the anomaly among thosewith whom he shared a discursive world. If, in'Weinstein's view, Santayanawas "suspicious of any claims that truth could be discovered in the wilder-ness of pure experience or pure reflection," he nevertheless understood thatSantayana believed in the need for "acceptance of personal finitude and an

affirmation of the goods that appear in the flux of existence" (109). Santa-

yana's philosophy of "acceptance" was a philosophy at the border of those

stemming from the wilderness.'Weinstein's border savage is one who knows that

there cannot be a mere repetition of the American classical traditiontoday. The efficient megalomania . . . has worked its way into the centerof American culture and will not be easily plucked out. Contemporaryfanaticism feeds on the hatred for existence, proliferating weapons andpoisons and wastes. The intolerance of existence has issued in the sys-

tematic erosion of the basis of life (155).

Border thinking and the concept of zozobra allow'Weinstein a vantage pointfrom which to examine the erosion of life in instrumentalized society. Con-sistent with life-philosophy, 'Wilderness proposes a "renewal of individual-ism in America," and it recommends that this "tradition be deepened andrevitalized" (156). For'Weinstein, individualism is not the possessive indi-vidualism created by moralized society but rather the individualism of thosewho embrace finitude. Life-philosophy is at the heart of this revitalizationprocess, for it provides a new balance. Inspired by zozobra, \Teinstein pro-poses a new recalibration for a tragic being-in-the-world: "The basis forrenewal of individualism in the present day is a deepening of inner toler-ance to the point at which it becomes normal and not eccentric to live withworld-sickness and still to be free for commitment to limited tasks withinthe public domain" lWilderness 155). The affirmation of personal finitudeis key because American pragmatism replaces this fundamental acceptance

with morality.

Brtri'Weinstein's critique of the a

and its moral invention is besr

James, he argues, had "advan,\ietzsche" ('Wilderness 22r. \\

James's resort to a speciaithe best diversionan' rarrrAmerican philosophers roments that abound in his ubetween science and religiiby science at the inceprirrr:can philosophers to cenreeffort that may, indeed. ha

The shift in life-philosophr trr-r

moral commitment is prim.rrkeeps in place the self-rightecSantayana, the border sa\.age

the insight that informs \\erNietzsche's abyss, James inr t:how life-philosophy has been ;helping people to live from o-.-tion in the common life. anci. :r Wilderness 154). Yet, for \\ ei.

distances the individual fron: iPragmatism had delii erei .

founded on finitude. Furrhern:imperative of producing a nc,rtotality of voluntary sen'anrs r

rhe divinity . . . The solurioir .r

tual problems created bv rhe i,of society for God as the obieship, and service" (Wildernessery the abyss of finitude is c..instrumentalization of living e:

U.S. culture toward an ever-mLifuture. In Wilderness we undt:away from the abyss, for ourfor a society built further au'acan civilization contemplaresexperience nor the life-philosolinstead it rushes forward torr'arconsumed, and inhabited.

'palrqequl PUE (peunsuol

'pecnpo.rd aq ol dtanos lerr8rp ro IEn]rI € pre^ ol prEA\roJ saqsnJ 1I p€elsul!&ru.repou str yo sa8po eqt le Surrelotrad dqdosolrqd-o;l otl] rou acuarredxa

str Jo rarluory oqt ts ssoureplr,^ aql raqllau saleydualuoo UoIIEZIIIAIf, uef-rJatrry 'spuelJapJoq slr pu€ otqozoz ruo.r; .(e,u.e Jaqrrn; tlrnq &arcos e ro;ur€JJOI Jql sres af,ueJelor Jeuul to uorle8au Jno JoJ 'ssdge eqr tuorl de.ra'e

azv? tno Sururnl yo saruanbasuof aql puetsropun aM ssaunpltA uJ 'arntn{

lerrSolouqcal crteru8erd pue poteoltslqdos-arour-rolo uP premol Jrnrlnl 'S'nsladord ssdqe aqr to le,ta'o^psrp eql 'af,uotslxo 8ur,,rr1 Jo uollezlletueurnrlsular.[r srequnJ t€ql usrlursod e dq ro^o peJeAoJ sI ePnllug ;o ss.{qr aqr 'lra-rros Ierorrl e 1o osnuord eql .,(q pepullg '(191 ssautapyryr) ,,atrrrtas pue 'drqs-aldnsrp 'aruera,Lrlap 'Juetutnuruor-aJll to rralgo ar{r se PoC ro; .&arlos ;ouorlnlrlsqns oql s€^\ lsq)N eqr ul Poc Jo qreaP eql ,(q palearf, sruelqord lent-urds aqt or .{qdosolrqd lecrsselr upflraurv to uollnlos eql ' ' ' dlrur,trp aqr

ol tou 'a1oq.,ra. Ielros eql ot punoq ere,^ . oq,^a sluelres .{relunlo.t Jo drllerotlJerlsqe uE se,ln. dltunruruoc aq1,, :dtanos IEJotu u Surcnpo.rd ;o a.ttleradruragl saurnsse asnJ leJoru srql (pfrJoury ur 'arotu.reqlJnJ 'JPnlIug uo PoPunol,(qdosopqd-a;r1 e Surceldal uI esnr leroru E Pera^IIOP peg usrteru8er4

'afueralol rJuur rer{/slq luo{ I€nPI^IPUI eq} saf,uElsIP

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to asoqt or 1a11e.red erp rpql suotttsod ol perue^Pe,, peq 'san8re aq 'sauef'sauref tuelllllA. uo ;ardeqr srq uI paleplJnle rseg sI uoltuelul lrrotu sll purursrleurSBrd uerrrourv Jo suorlEPunol lessdqe oql 10 anbrtuf, s(ulJlsulalN

SII Kqdosopq1 uu)Ltaurv pua Sur4utql npng

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't_a-s.(s aqr ur penssr SELI OJuolSr\J lt-r .

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uorlrPBJl ]EfrssElf uBlrJeluy aqr ra

lEtil s,\\o;!

rsor1t Jo roprog aqr re ,{qdosolr'.1: ;-BtuES '(661) .,ecualsrxo Jo xng r;'luE pue apnlru5 leuos.rad ;o arua;:tEql PoolsJePun ssaleLlua^au aq _'r-rrP]r,&\ erll ur Pere^o)srP aq Plnor i

euedetue5 Aler,r. s,uralsulal( ul '_rl 'i

asoql Suoue ,{leuoue aqr se Lurq S

1o Surpuulsropun srq ur seteraql;,r:-ulaA. '(S ssautappgy) ,,9r3 1er-.ri:ruiq.r\ollE IIr^ r€q] ((arnsearl.. P ::rEaJteJ aql '(S ssautapplyr) ., .-trl:.-durnsse elrlruSof, oql (suonuJ-\uc'l

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116 Ram6n E. Soto-Crespo

FROM BORDER TO CTVIL SAVAGE

\fhen, in Cuhure/Flesh (1.995), Weinstein writes, "The civil savage vindi-cates the finite flesh," we detect the intensity of border thinking in manldescriptions of this postcivilized consrruct that he calls the civil savage (5). Ifborder thinking takes the form of coordinating irreconcilable forces, \fein-stein's description of the civil savage emphasizes his srrategic geopoliticallocation at the border of all traditions and civilizations: "it is better for himto live with these doubts and to be free of any particular tradition, to be ableto relativize all traditions, to see through the essence of all civilizations, andthen to plunder the treasures of each one of them" (CulturelFle.sb 5). Theborder savage, with its antipositivist thought and border thinking, had ledover the years to the coming into being of the civil savage of postcivilizedmodernity.

The civil savage results from decades of 'Weinstein's deep explorations

into his border consciousness in order to provide a philosophy of conduct.\fleinstein's encounter with finalist thought had pointed to a crisis thatemerged with the perception of an "absence of legitimate and acknowledgedforms for conducting life" (7). This absence of a philosophy of conduct forpostcivilized modernity is a preoccupation that stems from those beginnings.

The emergence of savagery amidst the ruins of civilization impels meto undertake a meditation on philosophy of conduct if only to drawattention to the horizon of possibilities that individuals might entertainas they seek to hold on to their existence day by day, to survive and,perhaps to flourish.

(Cuhure/Flesh 1)

It is in light of this pursuit that 'Weinstein states, "this is the book of thecivil savage who seeks to live well in the culture jungle" (culture/Fle.sh viii).

Like Foucault, who in The History of Sexuality and in Tbe'tJse of plea-sure sought to understand contemporary culture by studying forms of sex-ual conduct that preceded the deployment of modern sexuality, \Teinsteindelves into studying contemporary culture with his "border eyes." In \7ein-stein's case, he studies the deployment of culture in postcivilized society.This epistemological vantage point allows Weinstein to spell out not onlywhat we have become but also what we, as a civilization will become. Inpostcivilized modernity, Culture has become king.

He explains further that civilization emerges "in the spiritual act ofremoving the individual self from its connections to an ongoing community,revealing the self to itself as a strange and fragile being and then reconnect-ing the self to a reality surpassing in its being and goodness the reality of theparticular community" (Cubure/Flesh 3).If society had replaced god in thecreation of American civilization, then in contemporary postcivilized moder-nity culture had replaced civilization. This cultural world is "dominated by

Border 7

icience and technology" at the erpprivileges the externally perceprit'l

It is precisely this "cultir.ared inundesirable in civilized socien. rhthinking's fundamental premise. F

inwardness stemming from the s-i\merican classical philosophr frorphy of the wilderness had led ro rthe civil savages as one of the lasr s

TOWARD A MINOR WEINSTEI

Finalism had invited people ro a liof authenticity but in terms of a

,

people's attention to the possibilintents of existence into acts" {Pol-lself-understanding, such as Finite lMeaning and Appreciation, and \\'ogy of self-reflection that stemmedthinking. It is in the last pages of Ithat have given impetus to \\einsr'unity through coordination rarh,border thinking shows that he embcal propositions, that is, his concalegre"f. Therefore, it should nor :

on life that we see at work in D;f-;lve gain an even deeper undersuniwhen faced with the open solirud,are thrilled to "wait for the androiiinvited humans to a path of -b.err

rheir own future replacemenr in :of "bare ltfe" at the border has le

According to Giorgio Agamben. -

killed yet not sacrificed" rvith imp"H"ppy pessimism" comprehendswhich instrumentalization produc,existence.

This chapter sought to shed ligfvre. I have traced a trajecton- tiomage. Nevertheless, I acknou,ledge tthan can be made to fit inro a sir

oeuvre is rhizomatic. As Diane Ruiam unpacking here can be considein the Deleuzian sense-where I an

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118 Ram6n E. Soto-Crespo

where I pursue the thread of the border savage as one of the philosopher'smany masks. I see \Teinstein's works as a series of critical engagements bya border savage who, like a Deleuzian war machine, learned to spot anddeterritorialize the despotic formations of culture.

Weinstein's vitalist critique seeks to dig deeper underneath the despoticcodes of postcivilized society. The border savage, as a Deleuzian "warmachine of thought," attempts to escape the codes of culture by havingthem flow through him and by not becoming encoded, or coded over, bythem ("Nomadic" 260). \Teinstein's border savage is fundamentally anexperimental creature in postcivilized culture. In work after work, \flein-stein analyzed and decoded the despotic avatars of instrumentalized society.By welcoming codes without being coded and by remaining uncoded whilemixing up all the codes, Weinstein has provided a philosophical trajectoryfor rethinking the border, nomadism, and power.

NOTES

1. There is yet another type of border thinking that develops from the U.S.-Caribbean borderlands, more specifically, from the borderland state of PuertoRico. I highlight this particular thread rn Mainland Passage: The CuburalAnomaly of Puerto Rico (2009).

2. Gilles Deleuze develops these ideas with Feliz Guattari in their best-knownwork Anti-Oedipws. But it is in their work on Kafka: Toward a Minor Lit-erature that we see the application of their concepts into the field of literarylcultural forms.

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Anzaldria, Gloria. Borderlands/La Frontera. San Francisco: Aunt LuteBooks,1987.

Deleuze, Gilles. "Nomadic Thought." Desert Islands and Other Texts, 1953-1974.Ed. David Lapoujade. Trans. Michael Taormina. Los Angeles: Semiotext(e),2004.252-26r.

Deleuze, Gilles, and Felix Guattari. Kafka: Towards a Minor Literature. Trans.Dana Polan. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1986.

Nomadology: The 'Vlar Machine. Trans. Brian Massumi. New York:Semiotext, 1986.

Foucault, Michel. The History of Sexuality. Vol. 1: An Introduction. l976.Trans.Robert Hurley. New York: Pantheon, 1978.

PowerlKnowledge: Selected Interuiews and Otber'Writings, 1971-1977.Ed. C. Gordon. New York: Pantheon, 1980.

The Use of Pleasure: Volume Two of the History of Sexuality.1984. Trans.Robert Hurley. New York: Vintage, 1990.

Hart, John M. "The Polarity of Mexican Thought: Instrumentalism and Finalismby Michael A. 'Weinstein."

The American Political Science Reuiew 72:4 (t978):1395-1396.

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Herndndez-Cela, C6sar. "The Pol;.:Finalism, by Michael A. \\eins224-225.

Kilgore, lTilliam J. "The Polarit., '.:ism, by Michael A. 'Weinstein." I(1980):513-514.

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Ross, Stanley R. "Institutionalized R,Reuiew 1.4:1. (1979): 292-29 6.

Soto-Crespo, Ram6n. Mainlan,l P;.Minneapolis: Minnesota Unir';rsr

Weinstein, Michael A. The Poi:,::F inal ism. University Park: Per.r-.r.

The Tragic Sense of Poi::::;Press, 1977.

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IN: Purdue University Press. 19-!Structure of Httman Liie: -,

versity Press, 1979.The tVilderness arrd tl:e C::

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Rowan and Littlefield, 199,i.and Arthur Kroker. D-::; J--:

Palgrave Macmillan, 199-{.'Wiarda, Howard. "The Polsri:, .: .'.:

by Michael A. Weinstein... i,-= .'

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