Chaos in the House of Reason: Positivism in the Americas, 1780–1900

This essay starts with the question “what is the Enlightenment?” and ends with the question “what is Philosophy?” These interrogations framed two of the main concerns about the government of the modern nation throughout the nineteenth century in Europe and the Americas. Three ideas guide this chapter. First, that a philosophical continuum in the Americas explains the ideological commonalities among different nations. Second, despite clear differences in racial politics and economic development, analysis of the philosophies that developed post-colonial nation building gives us a different picture. The nineteenth century originated a continental view of philosophy that needs to be considered. An examination of this century makes clear that while the intellectual goals appear similar, the different ways to achieve them led to constant debates. This essay indicates that the nineteenth century was consumed by intellectual chaos and instability. While in the first half of the century philosophy and sciences were at the center of the republic’s politics, by the end of the century it is not even clear what philosophy entailed, and what Enlightenment, Ilustración, Iluminação, or Les Lumières really meant.