Eugenio María de Hostos y de Bonilla

Eugenio María de Hostos y de Bonilla was a nineteenth-century philosopher and educator whose legacy informs our educational practices and ontology globally. Influenced by the pedagogy of his youth, de Hostos sought improved pedagogical practices through scientific inquiry. These same pedagogical practices informed how de Hostos viewed the world, oppressed through flawed republics fraught with bias against marginalized communities. de Hostos worked to inculcate a social, moral quality in society. A philosopher, educator, and advocate, he contributed to an understanding of liberation throughout Latíno Ameríca. The complications and dilemmas that de Hostos postulated continue today, and to understand the dialectic of education and liberty in Latíno Ameríca, this chapter exclusively focuses on the life and contributions of Eugenio María de Hostos y de Bonilla.