Critical interculturality and ecology of knowledge: a counterpoint to the monopoly of one culture as the universal heritage of humanity

Abstract

Critical interculturality aims to collaborate in the construction of a more just, diverse, plural and democratic society, countering the monoculture that was formed in the West and has spread throughout the world. The Ecology of Knowledge is based on a critique of the suppression of the knowledge of colonized peoples and nations, considered subaltern, marginal and underdeveloped. Both perspectives criticize colonialism as a form of domination in all its different forms (knowledge, being and power), as well as opposing the idea of a hegemonic and universal culture of humanity. Starting from the encounter and intertwining of these two positions, we are challenged by the following question: how can critical interculturality and the Ecology of Knowledge contribute to confronting multiculturalism and the idea of a universal hegemonic epistemology? Methodologically, this is a qualitative, historical and documentary study inspired by authors such as Fornet-Betancourt (2004), Catherine Walsh (2013), Boaventura Santos (2010), Raimon Panikkar (2002) and others. The aim is to analyze the main assumptions of critical interculturality and the Ecology of Knowledge as a way of confronting multiculturalism and epistemological hegemony. On first reading, it is possible to affirm that both perspectives are fundamental to confronting the thesis of universal hegemonic culture and epistemology.