Unsettling the Coloniality of Being/Power/Truth/Freedom: Towards the Human, After Man, Its Overrepresentation-An Argument

by Sylvia Wynter

The New Centennial Review is devoted to comparative studies of the Americas that suggest possibilities for a different future. Centennial Review is published three times a year under the editorship of Scott Michaelsen and David E. Johnson.

This issue, Coloniality's Persistence, has been guest-edited by Greg Thomas on behalf of the Coloniality Working Group. The articles collected here demonstrate, in myriad ways, that the problem(s) of colonialism remain to be thought, and that the Americas—and the United States in particular—cannot be extricated from the matter.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Theory, History, Essays, Race, Politics

80 pages

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Sylvia Wynter, OJ (born 11 May 1928), is a Jamaican novelist, dramatist critic and essayist.

Sylvia Wynter’s scholarly work is highly poetic, expository and complex. Her work attempts to elucidate the development and maintenance of modernity and the modern man. She interweaves science, astrology and critical race theory to explain how the European man comes to be the epitome of humanity, “Man 2” or “the figure of man.” In “Unsettling the Coloniality of Being/Power/Truth/Freedom: Towards the Human, After Man, Its Overrepresentation—An Argument,” Wynter explains that the West uses race to attempt to answer the question of who and what we are—particularly after the enlightenment period that unveils religion as incapable of answering that question.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[mumtaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

it's like she has the mind of a mastermind... but in a way that unsettles the construction of master as part of the constructed assemblage that is Man

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

there is simply no one else like Sylvia Wynter

[John Gillespie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hey Sway, Wynter has all the answers.

[Imani ♥ ☮ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Changed my thinking in so many ways.

[Sarika · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for anyone and everyone living in the modern/Western world. I've never read an essay quite like this -- in its scope, its penetrating perceptiveness, and its accuracy. Wynter essentially distills the genealogy of Western Man (and humanism) and forces us to consider an epistemic reckoning, even if I don't entirely agree on where she settles. Regardless, this is more than worth it for the analysis she blesses us with.

[Kendall Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for those interested in unpacking the evolution of modernity along the Color Line, Wynter's essay radically alters everything we know about history. Her arguments are beautifully written, though at times difficult to decipher - but this is one of those times that the sentences truly do warrant a read and re-read. Wynter's ability to track the origins of the Western, colonial epistemology, both in science, politics, and everything in between, is a true feat of philosophy. For me, this essay is a necessary introduction to anti-colonial politics, as it prepares its readers to think beyond the traditional leftist canon that still leaves much to be desired in its analysis of colonialism.

[Anu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will quite literally change your life and I will need to re-read this every year for the rest of my life. Wynter expertly critiques Western humanism through a decolonial lense in a way that will quite literally rewire your brain. Ever wonder what it means to be "Man"? Is your understanding of Man even inclusive? It is inevitably crafted through Euro-colonialism, so of course it's not. This essay is everything and I can't even begin to put into words how I wish everyone could read it

[Kathleen Quaintance · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO crucial, v under-read. she has an incredible mind. pls read

[Juliet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is some dense, important work. Wynter's writing isn't easily accessible, but that might be on purpose (?) - her anti-disciplinary approach shapes all aspects of her work.

[Lotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think about this essay literally at least once per day since I’ve read it. This is… the best thing I’ve read. It was a bit difficult but so worth it. I genuinely don’t understand how this work is not more well known or talked about. If an alien were to come to earth and wanted to understand what the fuck was happening here because what the hell, I would hand the fucking alien this essay without even saying anything.

Reading this felt like finally getting rid of a fog clogging up my sight that I’ve been trying to get rid of my entire life while all of us from birth are turned into little smoke machines by “the system” to make getting rid of it all the much more difficult for others and ourselves. If only all the “we’re living in the matrix” guys would read this. This essay is the true red pill guys

[Mi Kr · Rating 3 out of 5]

This work itself is, too, an overpresentation of “the” historical human. It is impossible to segment a modern (future) inclusive definition of the human by evoking a sense of global commonality of in historical systems of oppression. The heavenly doctrines, to Wynter’s concern, at least in the context of pre-Buddhist China, is orthopractic. The Wynter human project has its flaws and must be dealt in the intersectional studies of decolonization, global racial (especially those uncounted and othered by the otherness in European colonialism), and environmental ethics.

[Jalin]

Such a well-researched piece from a brilliant mind. I find the reading slow-going because I keep stopping to read and research her reference material and citations. Currently on pause here to dig into the "Coloniality of Power, Eurocentrism, and Latin America" by Anibal Quijano, which she builds her Argument on.

Reminded that the world is a little less scary when you have literature that names reality.

[Shut_Descartes_Down · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly transformative, in every way imaginable.

[Sian · Rating 5 out of 5]

read for my black geographies course. incredible but also written in that old caribbean academic/formal style of writing that is all too familiar and also deeply dense/jargony/inaccessible

[TheCalloftheLibrary · Rating 5 out of 5]

might be the most impactful thing i've read in my life?