The End of the Cognitive Empire

In The End of the Cognitive Empire Boaventura de Sousa Santos further develops his concept of the "epistemologies of the South," in which he outlines a theoretical, methodological, and pedagogical framework for challenging the dominance of Eurocentric thought. As a collection of knowledges born of and anchored in the experiences of marginalized peoples who actively resist capitalism, colonialism, and patriarchy, epistemologies of the South represent those forms of knowledge that are generally discredited, erased, and ignored by dominant cultures of the global North. Noting the declining efficacy of established social and political solutions to combat inequality and discrimination, Santos suggests that global justice can only come about through an epistemological shift that guarantees cognitive justice. Such a shift would create new, alternative strategies for political mobilization and activism and give oppressed social groups the means through which to represent the world as their own and in their own terms.

“"The result of many years of work, this book was written towards the possibility of what I would call ' una epistemologa solidaria ,' an epistemology in solidarity with those who want to change the world as it is hegemonically known. Boaventura de Sousa Santos's political analysis in The End of the Cognitive Empire offers an alternative that steers political analysis away from usual alternatives."”

"De Sousa Santos does a commendable job at providing a structured methodological guide for doing research pertaining to the epistemologies of the South and addresses pedagogical challenges anticipated with the advent of the proposed conceptual shift in the thinking of political change." -- Dieunedort Wandji International Journal of Francophone Studies

“The End of the Cognitive Empire is an outstanding book that takes forward Santos’s previous Epistemologies of the South by providing a more practical guide replete with real-world examples and experiences, many of them firsthand.”

-- Sam Halvorsen Journal of Latin American Geography
“An extraordinary compilation of Sousa Santos’ theoretical and practical contributions, The End of the Cognitive Empire, is an addition to discussions about the epistemic foundations of social struggles across the globe. Divided into three parts, each is a profound reflection on how the knowledges questioning the North are articulated to advance an anti-capitalist, anti-patriarchal, and anti-colonial agenda…. [This book is] off interest to researchers and students in the social sciences, humanities, postcolonial studies, and empirical philosophers of science….” -- Leandro Rodriguez-Medina Metascience

Boaventura de Sousa Santos is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Coimbra (Portugal), Distinguished Legal Scholar at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the author and editor of dozens of books, which include If God Were a Human Rights Activist and Epistemologies of the South: Justice against Epistemicide.

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