With the award of the Book and Reading Fund 2022, in the category of publishing collection, the International Institute of Philosophy and Social Studies (IIPSS) seeks to contribute to the public, social, political, and cultural discussion of the country through critical thinking.
Constelaciones Críticas’ objectives publishing project is to recognise books as a space for encountering and disseminating knowledge. This project, which includes the publication of two works by 2022, in conjunction with the publishing house “Metales Pesados”, is one of the objectives of the project. To Tomás Peters, executive Director of the IIPSS and academic at the University of Chile, this fund is an important step towards the inscription of the International Institute of Philosophy and Social Studies in the Chilean public sphere.
“These books will not only inaugurate the institute’s own collection in the Metales Pesados publishing house, but are also situated as a critical interruption in the ongoing deliberative scene. Indeed, these works serve as fundamental conceptual scaffolding for the cultural-political architecture of the present,” Peters comments.
Nicolas Ried, lawyer and master’s in philosophy, is in charge of opening the collection with his book “¿Qué es la crítica? Michel Foucault, leer el presente sin juicio”, for whom books are one of the main ways of disseminating knowledge in a serious, responsible, and rigorous manner. “They are a tool that allows us, as an institution, to participate in forms of collective reflection, while at the same time allowing us to face the cultural challenges that plague us, such as fake news, post-truth and the weakening of politics,” says the IIPSS researcher.
The second book, “Criticismo y materialismo. Sobre los inicios de la teoría crítica,” by Nicolás del Valle Orellana, member of the International Institute of Philosophy and Social Studies, completes what is expected to be the first part of the Constelaciones Críticas publishing project. “The launch of the collection is an opportunity for advocacy from the field of philosophy and social studies. It is a very concrete way of contributing, from social and cultural criticism to the discussion on public affairs.” the researcher said.
The first two books in the collection are the beginning of a long-term project, to which new publications will be added, following the initial objective: to contribute to critical thinking, to contribute to the democratization of knowledge and, above all, to be a meeting place. “This fund will help our researchers to have a highly prestigious editorial platform to circulate their work, reflections and research. We are confident that this new IIPSS-Heavy Metals collection will be a contribution both to Latin American critical thinking and to society as a whole,” concludes the IIPSS Executive Director.
