 But it is with the foundation of Chile as an independent republic that Chilean philosophy began to be cultivated in a systematic manner within institutions of higher education entrusted with a deliberate national purpose. Five major periods characterize the history of the discipline: the formative years from Independence through 1865; the ascendancy and decline of Positivism from 1865 through 1920; the anti-positivist reaction from 1920 to 1950; the rise and critique of professionalization from 1950 to 1973, and the fate of philosophy under military rule, from 1973 to 1990. These periods coincide roughly with the major stages in the development of philosophy in other countries in the region. The period since 1990, when Chile returned to democratic rule, is much more difficult to trace and define. And yet, the main foundations of the discipline have not changed in any substantial way.