ABSTRACT. This paper aims to assess how the resurgence of a neouniversalist orientation in contemporary Latin American philosophy responds both constructively and critically to the critique of Eurocentrism and coloniality advanced by thinkers of the modernity-coloniality movement. Focusing particularly on the works and thought of the Colombian philosopher Fernando Zalamea, I demonstrate how a reimagined concept of transmodernity expands the ideas developed by Rosa María Magda and Enrique Dussel regarding the possibility of what I will call an ‘unrestricted transcultural synthesis.’ Drawing inspiration largely from the Arielista tradition at the turn of the century, as well as the thinkers of the Atheneum of Mexico between 1909 and 1914 – especially Pedro Henríquez Ureña and Alfonso Reyes – I argue that Zalamea’s project offers a constructive reply that integrates the lessons of the critique of Eurocentrism while resisting a wholesale rejection of modernity as the unavoidable counterpart of coloniality. This paper will examine how Zalamea’s proposal responds to the gnoseological critique and pluriversal project proposed by Walter Mignolo, Catherine Walsh and Ramón Grosfoguel, concerning the structural complicity between modernity and the coloniality of knowing. It argues that a non-Eurocentric form of universalism and an alternative modern project are necessary to counteract the deflationary and depoliticising effects often associated with the global rejection of modernity, as well as the defence of ‘border gnoses.’ In this context, I explore how Zalamea’s line of reasoning aligns with other strands of decolonial thought, including the genealogical perspective exemplified by figures such as Santiago Castro-Gómez and Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui.

Keywords: border epistemology; coloniality; decoloniality; universalism; transmodernity

How to cite: Sacilotto, D. (2025). The coloniality of knowledge and the new universalisms:
Gnoseological critique and its critics. Knowledge Cultures, 13(3), 153–186. https://doi.org/10.22381/kc133202511

Received October 6, 2025 • Received in revised form November 26, 2025
Accepted November 26, 2025 • Available online December 1, 2025