Un-Discovering America

Philosophics — Philosophical and Political Ramblings · Jul 4, 2026 · 19m

Language philosopher Bry Willis examines several counterfactual novels that imagine an American history free from traditional European colonisation. Most of these stories function as structural inversions, where Indigenous empires like the Aztecs or Incas become the dominant technological superpowers that eventually conquer Europe. Willis criticises these "mirror" narratives for failing to escape a Eurocentric framework, as they merely swap the identities of the victors while keeping the logic of conquest intact. In contrast, the author praises works that envision entirely different social…