Beyond top-down universalism: constructing the pluriverse through bottom-up universalism

This article reexamines the apparent opposition between universalism and pluriversalism. We argue that pluriversalism does not reject universalism but presupposes a specific form of it - “bottom-up universalism.” Our aim is to clarify and systematize this normative core. We critique “top-down universalism,” a Eurocentric model that imposes homogenizing norms and marginalizes non-Western epistemologies and instead advance the pluriverse as a framework recognizing diverse ontologies as coeval and valid. Bottom-up universalism operates through two moments. First, a critical moment universalizes the recognition of human finitude and rejects any a priori claim to epistemic or moral superiority. Second, a procedural moment universalizes not substantive values but the right to participate in dialogue across unequal historical conditions and expressive forms. Ethical commitments - such as dignity or opposition to gender violence - emerge from this process as provisional, revisable outcomes rather than imposed norms. This framework avoids both relativism and imposed universalism. Through examples including Islamic feminist reinterpretations of religious texts, we show how shared ethical horizons can arise through dialogue rather than decree, bridging theory and practice while grounding plurality in epistemic humility.