Science, Progress, and Discrimination: Positivism and Evolutionism in the Intellectual and Political Elites of Chile and Latin America (19th and 20th Centuries)

Abstract

This article examines the adoption of positivism and evolutionism in the discourses of political and intellectual elites of the 19th and early 20th centuries, with the aim of characterizing the emphasis on order, progress, and racism. It begins by analyzing the most relevant philosophical elements of both currents, and then contextualizes their influence on the ideological landscape of 19th-century elites, particularly regarding the process of national identity construction and the imaginary of orality, as well as their impact on racism and internal political vicissitudes. These philosophical traditions provided an ideological framework that, at times, served to ease internal tensions within dominant groups, divided between conservatism and liberalism, as well as between authoritarian and progressive elements.