Universality in Dispute: the Logic of Cultural Domination in the Debate of Valladolid (1550-51)

Abstract

This article develops a philosophical hermeneusis of the “Valladolid Debate” (1550-51) centered on the notion of “universality”, highlighting the universalist elements present both in the foundation of a praxis of colonial domination developed by Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda and in the recognition of the cultural diversity held by Bartolomé de las Casas. First, the historical-ideological context of the conquest is presented. Subsequently the article analyzes de Sepulveda’s arguments about barbarism, cultural superiority and the right of domination, which established a “logic of cultural domination”. In this context, de Sepúlveda intended to establish a fracture between “civilized” and “barbaric” cultures, in which the human essence revealed itself deficiently. Finally, the contribution considers the objections to the “colonial fracture” presented by de las Casas, who composes an alternative position resignifying the concept of “universality” that inhabited de Sepúlveda’s differentialist arguments.